Chapter 10, Pregnancy and Lactation

By Francis Glorieux

Academic Press
Publication date: September 2011

ISBN: 9780124093980

Digital Book format: ePub (Adobe DRM)

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This chapter presents a review of the evidence on the extent to which strategies apply in the human situation, the mechanisms by which they occur, the limitations imposed by maternal diet, and the possible consequences for the growth of the infant and bone health of the mother. It also discusses the importance of maternal vitamin D status in the mineral metabolism of the mother and infant. The fluxes of the primary bone-forming minerals, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and zinc, that occurs between mother and offspring during pregnancy and lactation place considerable demands on maternal mineral economy. There are several possible biological strategies for meeting these extra requirements, including increased food consumption, elevated gastrointestinal absorption efficiencies, decreased mineral excretion, and mobilization of tissue stores. The evidence suggests that pregnancy and lactation are associated with physiological adaptive changes that are independent of maternal mineral supply, within the range of normal dietary intakes. These processes appear to provide the minerals necessary for fetal growth and breast milk production without requiring an increase in maternal dietary intake or compromising maternal bone health in the long term.