Nutrition in Pregnancy and Lactation

Significant changes in maternal calcium metabolism occur during pregnancy and lactation. These changes provide a sufficient calcium supply to the fetus for skeletal growth and to the newborn infant in the form of adequate maternal milk production. There is increasing evidence that calcium is mobilized from the maternal skeleton for milk production and is replaced upon resumption of menses, and that dietary calcium does not prevent the bone loss that occurs during lactation. This chapter summarizes the literature on the effects of human pregnancy, lactation, and weaning on calcium metabolism and bone health, the role of dietary calcium on these changes, the epidemiological evidence relating parity and lactation to osteoporosis and fracture risk, and the role of maternal calcium and vitamin D intake on neonatal vitamin D and bone development.