A severe case of hypercalcemia has been reported in a lactating woman in association with moderate calcium carbonate supplementation. - GreenMedInfo Summary
Severe hypercalcemia in a lactating woman in association with moderate calcium carbonate supplementation: a case report.
J Reprod Med. 2004 Mar;49(3):214-7. PMID: 15098893
Section of Endocrinology, Department of Internal Medicine, Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center, La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA. [email protected]
BACKGROUND: Lactation results in dramatic bone resorption and decreased urinary calcium excretion due to rapidly falling estrogen levels and probably increased levels of parathyroid hormone-related protein. CASE: A healthy, 36-year-old woman developed severe hypercalcemia several days after beginning breast-feeding her second child. During and after this pregnancy, she supplemented a high calcium diet with moderate amounts of calcium carbonate in an attempt to avoid an osteoporotic fracture that occurred while she was breast-feeding her first child. CONCLUSION: Because the metabolic changes that occur during lactation predispose a woman to hypercalcemia, the daily recommended daily allowances for calcium should not be exceeded during breast-feeding.
