Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Magnesium and Morning Sickness

If you're doing any research into NVP (nausea and vomiting of pregnancy, i.e. morning sickness) prevention, you have surely run across the magnesium-NVP link. There are many people out there who believe that magnesium deficiency is (fully or partially) behind pregnancy nausea - fascinating stuff!

An interesting fact is that almost all Americans are magnesium-deficient already, due to the modern farming practices that have resulted in magnesium-deficient soils, and thus magnesium-deficient foods. Considering how vital magnesium is to the human body, it's not surprising that we're experiencing widespread detrimental health effects from this situation. For more information, see "The Magnesium Miracle."

I wanted to collect the articles that I have on magnesium and NVP for quick reference. Definitely check them out!

Regardless of whether magnesium supplementation is "the answer" for some women dealing with severe NVP, it behooves all of us to consider magnesium supplementation - either through oral supplements like Natural Calm, or through products like Magnesium Oil (applied to the skin - buy here) or Epsom Salts (used for baths). An additional option is magnesium injections, which can be obtained through a naturopath.

Remember that magnesium absorption may be affected by pregnancy, so it's probably important to raise your magnesium levels before conception.

I've seen lots of great health benefits through magnesium supplementation, and it's now on my "always" list of supplements. Highly recommended!

Articles:
  1. Raising Arrows: Magnesium Supplementation and Morning Sickness
  2. Modern Alternative Mama: Magnesium May Solve Common Health Issues
  3. Mommypotamus: The REAL Cause of Morning Sickness
  4. Wellness Mama: How I Avoided Morning Sickness
  5. Article: The Miracle of B Complex B-12 and Magnesium Injections
You will notice that most of these articles are about normal morning sickness, not HG. However, it's one of those things that can only help - why not try it? Solving nutritional deficiencies and strengthening our bodies is always a positive step in preparing for pregnancy, regardless of whether or not it's "the answer" for each individual woman. I would list magnesium supplementation as an essential for preparing for pregnancy, especially in post-HG women. 

Thoughts, dear readers?

* Later added: Check out this link to see information on symptoms of magnesium deficiency!

8 comments:

  1. I think it is all very interesting! I took magnesium supplements during my first pregnancy and had a bit less nausea than I have had during this one (although in both cases the worst I ever got was just feeling queasy). However, my midwife recommended that I stop taking magnesium near the end of pregnancy because it can relax the uterus enough to delay the onset of labor (which is an issue with me since my body likes to run late!), and which makes sense because I used it to ward off the leg cramps pregnancy seemed to like to induce in me. So, just another thought to add. Maybe I was overdoing it or wasn't deficient to begin with, or maybe it was totally unrelated, I don't know :)

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  2. Hi, Kristina! Thanks for sharing! Interesting stuff there, especially what your midwife recommended! That makes sense, especially considered that magnesium (as mag sulfate) is used to stop premature labor. I too discovered magnesium as a cure for those AWFUL leg cramps - I was actually taking liquid Cal/Mag as a preventative measure to prevent afterpains, but it cured the leg cramps while we were at it!! I haven't had any this time through, but I'm not sure if I'm far enough along to be in that territory yet. It will be interesting to see!!

    Wonderful stuff, for sure! :)

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  3. Oh, and I also wanted to mention that my usual from-conception-on Braxton Hicks Contractions have been MUCH more sporadic now that I'm taking magnesium supplements, as opposed to the first time through, when they were basically non-stop from conception to birth. I'm guessing that was magnesium deficiency as well. :)

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  4. I had morning sickness for about 3 months... and I was using this stuff called ease magnesium. Its a spray you put on your chest once a day after a shower and it took the edge off but I still felt sick only when the mention of food was around. Not bad but interesting read.. I started my own mommy blog here and by far this has been the most talked about subject. Also HG - I wrote about it here too.(http://www.rockthebabybump.com/when-does-morning-sickness-start/ )

    Thanks for the post!

    Today I am getting my baby girls ears pierced. Ugh. I will probably cry more than she does :)

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    1. Thank you for your comment, and for the link! I appreciate both very much! :)

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  6. Hello, I am now pregnant with my third, my first 2 I had Morning Sickness from week 7-18 before it subsided. My first was the worst throwing up all through the day, eating whatever appealed to me which was usually sugary. With my second, the ms was still miserable, but I didn't throw up as much. I had heard about magnesium helping with ms and so I had went to our local Natural Grocers and bought magnesium oil spray by Lifeflo. I would only use it at night spray 4-5 sprays into my hand and rubbing it into my stomach. It seemed to help me sleep better and have no leg cramps but I did not see much of a difference in my nausea. So here I am pregnant with Baby #3 and my nausea kicked in a bit before 6 weeks and became very miserable in my 7th week. I felt like all I wanted to do was rest and with 2 other babies and a house to withhold, I became depressed that this would be the story of my life for the next 2-3 months. I began praying for God to help me, have mercy on me, show me the way. I remembered the magnesium oil spray and started to research where to spray it and how much to apply each day for it to be effective in helping to relieve my nausea. I read online that in ten sprays there is 200mg of magnesium that gets into your blood stream. They encourage pregnant women to have 320-350mg of magnesium daily. This is very interesting because if women who are nauseas and all they want to eat is bland crackers and cereal, they are going to be very deficient in magnesium and continue on like this wondering why they can't feel better. It is a very miserable experience for mothers and can lead to depression and regret in their decision to have a child. So the night I picked up my mag oil, I thought I need to apply more and frequently through the day. Magnesium also passes out of the body when we urinate. I sprayed four sprays and rubbed them into my wrists and a couple sprays each into my ankles. I didn't feel much of a difference that night, however I woke up the next day and applied more, and I did so three to four times that day, about 4 sprays each time, also applying it under my knees. I could not believe how much better I felt the next day! I have not stopped and now almost 9 weeks and my nausea is greatly relieved everyday. I still have times of nausea, but when I do, I just sit, sip water and relax. I am amazed! I also have so much more energy! I am so thankful to the Lord for leading me to this. My diet also consists of no refined sugar, fatty or oily foods and that seems to help too! Blessings to all of you ladies! Jesus loves you so much!

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    1. Many apologies for the long delay in publishing this comment! Thank you so much for telling your story - I am glad to hear about your positive experience with magnesium. I am currently taking high doses of magnesium with hopes of having less nausea if the Lord blesses us with another baby. I'm glad to hear this encouraging story!

      Diana

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