19/06/2026
Does calcium actually prevent pre-eclampsia, and is an early birth safer in pregnancies with high blood pressure?
Pre-eclampsia is a pregnancy related condition causing high blood pressure, and can be life threatening or result in lifelong complications for the mother and baby if left untreated.
High blood pressure during pregnancy is the leading cause of death and severe illnesses in mothers and babies. It affects the placenta and can affect other organs, such as the kidneys, liver and brain.
When pre-eclampsia with life threatening complications has developed during pregnancy, it can only be treated by delivering the baby, sometimes prematurely.
An updated Cochrane review looked at whether calcium supplementation during pregnancy can actually prevent pre-eclampsia, while a second Cochrane review looked at whether early birth is safer for babies and mothers with pre-eclampsia. Here is what they found:
Calcium for prevention:
- There is high certainty evidence from large trials that calcium supplementation during pregnancy has no effect on the prevention of pre-eclampsia.
- Low-dose or high-dose calcium supplementation made no difference to outcomes
- Small study effects and publication bias strongly influenced earlier conclusions
Early birth safety:
- Planned early birth reduces maternal complications by nearly half
- The risk of stillbirth was reduced by 75%
- No increased risk of C-section or neonatal unit admission
"A common misconception is that by waiting longer, mum and baby are gaining more time, but often you are just delaying an inevitable emergency birth, when both may be in a worse condition." - Dr Alice Beardmore-Gray, King's College London
Read more about it in the Cochrane Library👉️
https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD001059.pub6/full
https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD009273.pub3/full
