Magnesium during pregnancy: Importance, safety, benefits, and more

Magnesium is an essential mineral that every person needs for proper body functioning. It supports the work of muscles and nerves, regulates blood pressure, and helps control blood sugar levels. In pregnancy, the amount of magnesium you need to receive per day increases from 310 mg to 350-360 mg.

If there is a necessity, supplementing magnesium during pregnancy is safe and beneficial. The key benefits of magnesium during pregnancy include:

• Blood pressure regulation
• Digestion support
• Stress reduction and better sleep
• Headache relief
• Cramps relief
• Fetal development support

It’s also believed that magnesium supplementation might help ease nausea and vomiting in some pregnant women.

Despite the benefits, it’s important to remember that too much magnesium can also have certain side effects. Hence, it’s recommended to start supplementation only under the supervision of your healthcare provider. Besides, it’s highly recommended to start by adjusting your diet and ensuring that you get more magnesium from food first.

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Our body is a complex mechanism that involves numerous elements, such as vitamins and minerals, needed to support its proper functioning. In pregnancy, ensuring that you get sufficient amounts of all essential elements becomes even more crucial as you need to support both your and your baby’s health.

Among a variety of elements that your body needs, magnesium is one of the most crucial ones. In this article, we’ll talk about the importance and safety of magnesium during pregnancy. We’ll delve into the benefits, possible side effects, recommended doses, and precautions that all pregnant women need to keep in mind to make their journeys beneficial and healthy.

What Is Magnesium?

Magnesium (Mg) is an essential mineral that your body needs for proper functioning. This mineral performs a number of vital roles:

• Ensures proper functioning of your nerves and muscles.
• Keeps blood pressure and blood sugar at optimal levels.
• Builds proteins, bone, and DNA.

Given its vital functions, it’s fair to say that every person needs magnesium. And your body produces it on its own. However, the levels of produced magnesium might not always be sufficient. What happens when your body lacks this mineral? Magnesium deficiency can result in multiple adverse symptoms, including:

• Headaches
• Appetite changes
• Fatigue
• Nausea and vomiting
• Muscle cramps
• Constipation, etc.

On top of this, a lack of magnesium in pregnancy can lead to a range of complications, including gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, preterm labor, and others.

Is Magnesium Safe During Pregnancy?

Since it’s one of the essential minerals needed for proper body functioning, it’s important that you get enough magnesium during pregnancy. However, when exploring the safety of magnesium for pregnant women and their babies, it’s important to consider its different forms.

Let’s start with the basics. Like all essential vitamins and minerals, magnesium can be obtained from food. Integrating it in this form is considered safe, beneficial, and actually important for pregnant women. A diet that involves a sufficient amount of magnesium helps you ensure that you’re getting enough of this mineral, supports muscle and nerve function, controls blood sugar levels, regulates blood pressure, and supports bone health. Some of the best magnesium-rich foods to include in your diet are:

• Whole grains (brown rice, oats, etc.)
• Nuts and seeds (sunflower seeds, cashews, almonds, etc.)
• Leafy greens (kale, spinach, etc.)

If you happen to have a magnesium deficiency, it’s possible to make up for it using supplements. Generally, magnesium supplementation can be safe for pregnant women and provide a number of benefits. However, as with any type of supplementation in pregnancy, it’s crucial to consult with a healthcare provider first before starting them. Your doctor will tell you whether you really need magnesium supplementation during pregnancy. In some cases, you might only need it after you give birth.

Apart from food-based and supplement-based magnesium, sometimes, this mineral is supplemented via injection. It might be used to stop pre-term labor. However, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not recommend using magnesium sulfate injection for longer than 5-7 days due to possible bone changes in babies.

Benefits of Magnesium During Pregnancy

Receiving a sufficient amount of magnesium during pregnancy is linked to a range of positive effects, including:

Blood Pressure Regulation

As was mentioned earlier, magnesium plays a huge role in helping you support normal blood pressure. Its supplementation has been shown to decrease the risk of preeclampsia development. For this reason, magnesium supplements are commonly used in high-risk pregnant women.

Digestion Support

Magnesium affects digestion in multiple ways. Firstly, it relaxes intestinal muscles and draws water into the bowels, which is why it helps deal with constipation. Also, magnesium is known to neutralize stomach acid and help with heartburn.

Stress Reduction and Better Sleep

Magnesium acts on the nervous system, supporting neuromuscular coordination and nerve transmission. In simple words, it helps reduce stress levels and support your mental health. Additionally, it is known to improve sleep quality.

Headache Relief

By calming the nervous system and reducing stress, magnesium can also help you relieve headaches. This mineral also regulates blood flow, which means that it can help with  headaches caused by the narrowing of blood vessels.

Cramps Relief

Magnesium is known to support the work of muscles. It helps relax muscle tension and thus might help relieve muscular cramps and spasms.

Fetal Development Support

Last but not least, taking magnesium during pregnancy is associated with improved fetal growth. Studies show that this mineral helps reduce growth restriction. Due to this reason, it might be used to increase birth weight in babies.

Does Magnesium Help With Nausea During Pregnancy?

Speaking about the potential benefits of magnesium during pregnancy, it’s also worth noting its effects on morning sickness. According to some experts, magnesium can help relieve nausea and vomiting by supporting digestion and calming the nervous system. Nausea and vomiting are also common signs of low magnesium levels, which is why using supplements might also help.

At the same time, nausea is also a common side effect of excessive magnesium intake. So it doesn’t necessarily help with morning sickness in all cases.

Magnesium During Pregnancy Side Effects

According to studies, taking magnesium during pregnancy is not linked to serious, life-threatening adverse effects. However, taking too high doses can lead to magnesium poisoning or toxicity.

Controlled trials reveal the following possible side effects:

• Drowsiness/confusion
• Headache
• Dizziness
• Mouth dryness or thirst
• Blurred vision
• Nausea and/or vomiting
• Flushing and warmth 
• Sweating
• Itching and tingling
• Muscle weakness

On top of these common side effects, consuming too much magnesium has been shown to increase the risk of the development of:

• Hypotension
• Tachycardia
• Respiratory depression
• Irregular heartbeat

To prevent adverse effects, it’s pivotal to integrate magnesium supplementation under the supervision of your healthcare provider. A doctor should evaluate your current magnesium levels using a blood test and help pick the safest dosage and supplement type for you.

How Much Magnesium During Pregnancy Do You Need?

Women of 19 and older need 310 milligrams of magnesium per day to ensure proper bodily functions. However, in pregnancy, the required amount rises to 350-360 mg.

Important note: You don’t need to supplement your entire daily dose of magnesium. Don’t forget that you get this mineral from food. It’s recommended to adjust your diet and ensure that you eat a healthy amount of seeds, nuts, whole grains, and leafy greens to receive magnesium from natural sources in the first place. This way, oral supplements will be your “top up” of magnesium, which is the healthiest approach.

FAQ

How do I know I have low magnesium levels?

Magnesium deficiency isn’t an automatic experience for pregnant women. However, experts emphasize that this mineral’s levels can fluctuate due to changing hormones in pregnancy, which means that pregnant women might be more likely to develop a deficiency. If this happens, you might experience the following signs of magnesium deficiency:

• General weakness
• Headaches
• Nausea
• Tremors
• Constipation
• Nighttime leg cramps
• Numbness or tingling in the legs or hands
• Heart palpitations

However, don’t attempt to diagnose deficiencies on your own. Always consult with your healthcare provider before starting any supplements.

What is the best type of magnesium during pregnancy?

There are several types of magnesium supplementation, including:

• Magnesium sulfate
• Magnesium citrate
• Magnesium oxide
• Magnesium amino acid chelate

Each type has different bioavailability and other specs. For supplementation during pregnancy, you might want to choose an easily-absorbing type of magnesium with reduced side effects. Magnesium amino acid chelate is often considered the best, gentle option. However, the best approach is to talk to your healthcare provider to receive personalized advice.

Can I receive too much magnesium?

Yes, it’s possible. Although you can’t get too much magnesium from food, it’s possible to get it from supplements, antacids, and laxatives. Generally, receiving 500 mg per day is considered too much, which can possibly lead to magnesium toxicity, which is rare but possible.

Conclusion

As you now know, magnesium is among the most essential elements your body needs to support its functions. It remains crucial in pregnancy. Furthermore, the amount of this mineral you need to receive per day increases when you are pregnant, and fluctuating hormones can make it harder to maintain the right magnesium levels compared to pre-pregnancy. Thus, it’s important to ensure that you don’t develop a deficiency.

Luckily, it’s possible to support your levels of magnesium during pregnancy with a balanced diet and supplements. Use this guide as your roadmap to safe and beneficial magnesium use. And remember about the importance of consulting with your healthcare provider first.

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