Preeclampsia is a serious pregnancy complication marked by high blood pressure for mum and some potentially harmful effects on the baby, including growth restriction. Preeclampsia is usually diagnosed towards the end of pregnancy, but research has identified that it often originates from abnormal placental development in the 1st and 2nd trimesters. From a nutritional standpoint, studies suggest that low levels of protein, minerals, certain vitamins, and choline are all associated with preeclampsia.
While there are many contributors of developing pre-eclampsia during pregnancy, one major player is vitamin B12 — or rather, the lack of it.
Vitamin B12 is one nutrient associated with a higher risk of preeclampsia. A systematic review of 19 studies with more than 3,000 participants found that women with preeclampsia had significantly lower levels of vitamin B12, compared to pregnant women with normal blood pressure. (PMID: 33001182)
There’s not enough data from this review to say that low vitamin B12 causes preeclampsia, but there is an association. Interestingly, other research has found that a severe variation of preeclampsia, known as HELLP syndrome, is also associated with B12 deficiency (symptoms of HELLP and B12 deficiency overlap significantly).
Vitamin B12 is only found in animal foods, and animal foods are chock-full of protein and other micronutrients that collectively are associated with a lower risk of preeclampsia.
In America, 23.3% of pregnant women have insufficient B12 levels, while 6.6% are overtly deficient. And if you follow a vegan or vegetarian diet, you are particularly at risk for low vitamin B12 levels (>60% of vegetarian pregnant women are B12 deficient).
For more on foods high in vitamin B12 and and other essential nutrients, check out my book and previous blogs (below).
The meal plans within Lily Nicholson’s book Real Food for Pregnancy all contain optimal levels of vitamin B12, so if you’re feeling overwhelmed by trying to meet your nutrient requirements, this is a great U.S. resource on prenatal nutrition.
Please check out previous blogs which address the need for good nutrition, specific vitamins including Folate (B9) and B12, pre-eclamapsia and methylation. You will also learn much on this and many other aspects of a healthy pregnancy in my book, available on Amazon.
https://dagmarganser.au/methylation
