[Pathophysiology and therapy of magnesium deficiency in pregnancy]

We determined serum magnesium(Mg)-levels in 67 pregnant women in late pregnancy. 42 gravidae complained of nightly muscle cramps; 21 of them received 1.8 g monomagnesiumaspartate twice daily per mouth for 4 weeks. 2 and 4 weeks after the initiation of therapy serum Mg-levels were again determined. Serum Mg-levels were lower in pregnant women as compared to a control group of non pregnant women. Gravidae complaining of muscle cramps had significantly lower serum Mg-levels than women without muscle cramps. The administration of Mg was associated with a significant rise in serum Mg-levels as early as 2 weeks after the initiation of therapy. Our study indicates that nightly muscle cramps during pregnancy might be a sign of a latent magnesium deficiency which can be influenced by oral magnesium.