{"id":621,"date":"2017-08-16T08:19:57","date_gmt":"2017-08-16T08:19:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/seleniumfacts.com\/?p=621"},"modified":"2017-08-28T13:14:13","modified_gmt":"2017-08-28T13:14:13","slug":"621-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seleniumfacts.com\/index.php\/621-2","title":{"rendered":"Selenium helps to avoid pregnancy complications"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Adequate intakes of selenium can help to reduce the risk of some of the more serious complications of pregnancy. Studies done with an organic high-selenium yeast supplement have yielded encouraging results.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Women who have first-trimester miscarriages or recurrent miscarriages have been found to have significantly lower selenium status than women who do not miscarry.\u00a0 Professor Margaret Rayman points out that blood selenium concentrations are typically lower during pregnancy, in part because there is an expansion of the volume of blood.\u00a0 However, increased inflammation \u2013 implicated in miscarriages \u2013 could also be a cause of reduced circulating selenium [Rayman 2012].<\/strong><\/p>\n

For this article, I have searched the Medline<\/em> database for results from randomized controlled studies involving selenium supplementation of low selenium status pregnant women.\u00a0 There have been a number of interesting results.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Selenium and oxidative stress in pregnant women<\/strong>
\nDr. Tara and a team of researchers did a simultaneous assay of pro-oxidant burden and antioxidant capacity in a total of 166 first-time-pregnant women.\u00a0 In their first trimester, the women were randomly assigned to an active treatment group receiving 100 micrograms of a yeast-based selenium preparation<\/a> (n=83) or placebo (n=83) per day until delivery.<\/p>\n

The study results showed that selenium supplementation may reduce oxidative stress associated with pregnancy<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0 Oxidative stress is the bio-medical term for the damage that is done to cells by harmful free radicals if the free radicals are not neutralized by antioxidants such as various selenium containing selenoproteins, Coenzyme Q10, vitamins C and E, and so on [Tara].<\/p>\n

Selenium and thyroid function in pregnant women<\/strong>
\nDr. Negro and a team of researchers investigated the protective effect of supplementation of pregnant women with 200 micrograms of selenium daily during the course of the women\u2019s pregnancies.<\/p>\n

The research findings indicated that selenium supplementation during pregnancy and in the postpartum period reduced thyroid inflammatory activity<\/a> and the incidence of hypothyroidism [Negro].<\/p>\n

Selenium and high blood pressure in pregnant women<\/strong>
\nDr. Han and Dr. Zhou studied the effect of supplementation with 100 micrograms of selenium daily for 6-8 weeks during late pregnancy.\u00a0\u00a0 The women in the selenium treatment group and in the placebo group received similar prenatal care. \u00a0The study results showed that the selenium supplement of the pregnant women prevented and decreased the incidence of pregnancy-induced hypertension<\/a> and gestational edema [Han].<\/p>\n

Selenium and pre-eclampsia in pregnant women<\/strong>
\nPre-eclampsia is a serious complication of pregnancy characterized by high blood pressure midway through the pregnancy in women whose blood pressure has been normal.\u00a0 Left untreated, pre-eclampsia<\/a> can result in serious consequences for the mother and fetus.<\/p>\n

Dr. Rayman and a team of researchers tested whether supplementation with 60 micrograms daily of an organic high-selenium yeast preparation would protect pregnant women against pre-eclampsia.\u00a0 Starting in week 12 \u2013 14 of the pregnancy, the women in the study received the active selenium tablet or a placebo tablet.\u00a0 The supplementation continued until delivery of the baby.<\/p>\n

In week 35, the researchers measured the study participants\u2019 serum concentrations of sFlt-1. \u00a0The sFlt-1 molecules are vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-1 proteins that are good predictors of\u00a0the risk of pre-eclampsia.\u00a0 The concentrations of sFlt-1 were significantly lower in the selenium treatment group than in the placebo group among the pregnant women with the lowest selenium status at baseline.<\/p>\n

The researchers concluded that selenium supplementation may reduce the risk of pre-eclampsia<\/a> in women with low selenium status [Rayman 2014].<\/p>\n

Selenium and pre-labor rupture of membranes in pregnant women<\/strong>
\nDr. Tara and a team of researchers reported that 166 women, who were pregnant for the first time and who were in the first trimester, were randomly assigned to receive 100 micrograms per day of a patented organic high-selenium yeast preparation or a matching placebo tablet.<\/p>\n

The study data showed that the incidence of Premature (pre-labor) Ruptures of Membranes<\/a> was significantly lower in the selenium group than in the placebo control group [Tara].<\/p>\n

Selenium and postpartum depression in new mothers<\/strong>
\nDr. Mokhber and a team of researchers assigned 44 first-time-pregnant women to a selenium supplementation group and 41 first-time-pregnant women to a placebo group.\u00a0 After the women had given birth, the researchers administered the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) questionnaire to the study participants.<\/p>\n

The women in the selenium treatment group had EPDS depression scores significantly lower than the EPDS score of the women in the placebo control group.\u00a0 The researchers concluded that supplementation with an organic high-selenium yeast supplement during pregnancy might reduce the risk of postpartum depression.<\/a><\/p>\n

Safety of selenium supplementation in pregnancy<\/strong>
\nSupplementation of 83 first-time-pregnancy women with an organic high-selenium yeast preparation from the first trimester until delivery in the studies conducted by Dr. Tara and her team increased mean serum selenium levels by the end of the pregnancy.\u00a0 The pregnant women receiving the active selenium supplement did not report any major side effects [Tara].<\/p>\n

Summary: Selenium supplements and pregnant women<\/strong>
\nBoth selenium status and selenium intake seem to play an important role in reducing the risk of pregnancy complications:<\/p>\n