Magnesium supplementation prevented an increase in diastolic blood pressure during the last weeks of pregnancy. The relation between diastolic blood pressure and urinary excretion of magnesium suggests that magnesium is involved in the regulation of blood pressure and that the increase in diastolic blood pressure in pregnancy could be due to a lack of magnesium.
Objective To investigate the effect of magnesium (Mg) supplementation in healthy pregnant women for prevention of blood pressure increase. Secondary outcomes were comparison of biomarkers for hypertensive disorders and labour and fetal outcomes between the groups. Methods Two hundred nulliparous healthy pregnant women were double-blind randomized to receive Mg daily or placebo. Results There were no differences in blood pressure increase. However, among the Mg-treated women, there was a significant negative correlation between increase in blood levels of magnesium and increase in systolic blood pressure (p = 0.042). Magnesium supplementation seems to be safe for both mother and infant. Conclusion Magnesium supplementation in healthy first-time pregnant women is not to be recommended for prevention of blood pressure increase. Supplementation in risk pregnancies needs to be further investigated. The study is listed on the ISRCTN registry with study ID 13890849.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.