PRENATAL VITAMIN PROBLEMS
By Dr. Lawrence Wilson
© April 2018, LD Wilson Consultants,
Inc.
All
information in this article is for educational purposes only. It is not for the diagnosis, treatment,
prescription or cure of any disease or health condition.
A case history. Maryann, age 25, had followed a development program for about a year, with excellent results. Her sodium/potassium ratio tended to be high, and she took 4 zinc tablets a day to help balance this.
Then Maryann became pregnant. Her regular doctor did not know much about our program and suggested she should stop it and only take a prenatal vitamin. Although a development program is very safe and superb during pregnancy to produce a healthy baby, she went along and quit our program.
MaryannÕs health soon began to deteriorate. She developed high blood pressure and preeclampsia. She ended up in the hospital twice before she contacted us for advice.
PRENATAL VITAMINS HIGH IN IRON AND COPPER
Many prenatal vitamin formulas are high in iron and copper. Iron is included because some, but certainly not all, pregnant women develop low iron later in pregnancy. Copper is included because, in some cases, it will help a woman hold on to a pregnancy if she has a tendency to miscarry. It tends to increase estrogen.
The problem is that for some women, these minerals are not needed and worse, they throw their body chemistry far out of balance. Both iron and copper tend to raise the sodium level and the tissue sodium/potassium ratio.
In MaryannÕs case, her tissue sodium/potassium ratio was already elevated. Raising it more led to high blood pressure and other symptoms of preeclampsia.
Another case. Another one of our clients was also talked out of following a development program by her doctor and told instead to take a prenatal vitamin. She was also told she could continue it when the baby was born.
She contacted us for advice after the birth of the baby because she said she was feeling anxious and irritable. We immediately suggested stopping the prenatal vitamin because both iron and copper can cause irritability and a fast oxidation rate.
A week later she came in for another visit. This time her husband, a local dentist, came along. He said to us ÒYou have to write this case up.Ó He said ÒMy wife became so irritable when the baby cried that she was hitting the baby. As soon as she quit the prenatal vitamin, her behavior changed and she calmed down.Ó
The lesson. Prenatal vitamins are often very unbalanced and can cause serious problems in some women. A development program includes the nutrients needed for pregnancy such as calcium, magnesium, folic acid and others. This is often much better than taking a one-size-fits-all prenatal vitamin.