The question of why pregnant is prescribed magnesia is asked by many people. A similar substance is actively used around the world to treat, first of all, preeclampsia, preterm birth and the symptoms associated with them.
Preeclampsia is intoxication or hypertension in women, manifested by irregular blood pressure, protein in the urine and edema. Sometimes this condition leads to loss of vision, renal failure, bleeding in the intestines and liver. But also, the placenta may exfoliate ahead of time, fetal pathologies may appear.
The risks
Numerous experiments regarding the effects of the described substance on the human body have shown that it is really able to positively affect the state of the pregnant woman. At the same time, the safety of such a drug is in some cases called into question. Sometimes convulsions, pressure drops are observed. All this in the most negative way affects the health of the patient.
Cases
Determining how useful magnesia is for pregnant women and the fetus, it is worth taking into account the following facts. This tool, used at the slightest suspicion of preeclampsia, along with increased pressure and swelling, not to mention the detection of protein in the urine, is used only in a hospital and under the supervision of doctors. That is, as a rule, a patient suffering from these phenomena is required to visit the hospital in order to take medical procedures.
Studies show that preeclampsia is observed only in 2-8% of cases when pregnant women see a doctor. Often the use of funds is not justified.
What is this drug
Understanding why magnesia is prescribed intravenously to pregnant women, it is worth understanding the nature of the described substance. The drug has another name - magnesium sulfate or bitter salt - as it was customary to call it at the end of the 17th century.
Then it was actively used in many areas of human activity. For example, agricultural workers often purchased it for household purposes. Since 1906, the substance has been used in the treatment of epileptic seizures. Later, a positive effect of this composition during pregnancy was noted. The initial form of the product is powder.
What for
The spectrum of action of the composition is wide. The described substance dilates blood vessels, positively affects the blood circulation of the brain. Sometimes it is prescribed for the prevention of puffiness in women.
Pregnancy magnesia in the 1st trimester dropper in developed western countries is prescribed for the prevention and treatment of preeclampsia. Often enter it on the 3rd trimester. But the list of indications varies from country to country. For example, in the Russian Federation it is recommended:
- with edema, with symptoms of ringworm, with an increase in blood pressure, the presence of protein in the urine, seizures, in severe cases;
- with the aim of relaxing the smooth muscles of the uterus;
- as a sedative;
- with a lack of magnesium;
- as a prophylaxis with a predisposition to the appearance of blood clots.
Magnesia with uterine tone during pregnancy in Russia is also considered an effective remedy.
Why is it still used?
Laxative properties of the described composition are known. It provides protection to the nerve joints of the fetus, provides prevention from brain damage. It is noted that the drug is able to have a positive effect on metabolic processes. Simply put, sulfate prevents the possibility of low birth weight.
In Russian realities, this drug is also prescribed in the early stages as a means to maintain uterine tone, but in the period of 1 and 2 trimesters, as a rule, this compound does not make sense for such purposes, since it acts on smooth muscles when it contracts.
The substance passes through the placenta, so the effect of using the drug at the initial stages is not comparable with the risk of fetal development pathologies.
Often there is also the appointment of electrophoresis together with such a healing composition. On the one hand, this ensures the delivery of the substance directly to the uterine cavity, but, on the other hand, it can provoke poisoning and convulsions. Electrophoresis is used only as a preventive measure at higher risks of pathologies, but not in all situations. Understanding how much magnesia is given to pregnant women and for what, it is worth keeping this in mind.
Forms
Despite the many different manufacturers of such a drug, there are only two generally accepted forms. The first is a powder for direct internal administration. The second is a 25% solution for internal administration in the form of ampoules of 5 ml or 10 ml.
Medicinal properties and dosage
There are 3 ways to introduce magnesium into the body during pregnancy - intravenously, intramuscularly and orally. The procedures of the first two types are deservedly classified as painful. At least this procedure cannot be called pleasant. Patients try to conduct it as rarely as possible in Western clinics.
Therefore, it is worth asking the doctors the question of why magnesia with a dropper is used during pregnancy. The grounds must be substantial, and they should be clarified first. In Russia, the drug is used much more often than in Western states.
Intramuscular injection of the composition is carried out mainly by ambulance officers, as soon as they notice a dangerous increase in blood pressure, during the manipulations the medicine is mixed with an anesthetic. The solution begins to be administered gradually, 5-20 ml 2 times a day. If the input is carried out in an illiterate, then the procedure negatively affects the nutrition of the fetus with oxygen.
How long
The exact dose, duration of treatment, and what magnesia is used for during pregnancy in a dropper is determined based on the current condition of the patient’s body. As a rule, the duration of therapy is 7 days.
It is very difficult to calculate the dosage of the drug correctly, which is why adverse reactions sometimes occur. Introducing magnesium into the body, the patient’s condition should be monitored: monitor the work of the heart and lungs, the balance of electrolytes in the urine. You will need to regularly check blood tests. With an increase in the concentration of the therapeutic substance, the risks for the patient also increase.
How to write
To use the product, a doctor’s prescription is required. It takes into account how the composition reacts with other means. The drug is a calcium antagonist, therefore, calcium gluconate or calcium chloride neutralizes the effect of the described drug. If it comes to poisoning, they inject these funds into different veins. In fact, calcium is a kind of antidote for sulfate.
Caution should be exercised while taking magnesium sulfate and antidepressants, any drugs that affect the patient's central nervous system.
If it is known that a woman suffers from kidney pathologies, the doctor must reduce the dosage without fail.
Side effects
Magnesium sulfate belongs to the category of drugs D. Since there is evidence that with its introduction there is a chance of harming the patient, use it only when the effect is higher than the risk. When the drug is used before birth, there is a possibility that the baby will appear already poisoned by these compounds. In this case, he may have problems with the respiratory system of the body. Western views on the appropriateness of the use of sulfate differ radically from Russian. Regarding the question of why pregnant women are given Magnesia, Western doctors and Russians continue to argue. And the Russians are clearly more loyal to the drug than their European and American counterparts.
There are cases when it was this remedy that caused the baby to have diseases such as rickets. The combination of magnesium sulfate with gentamicin (introduced after childbirth, they appear in breast milk) can provoke pathologies of the respiratory systems in newborns, and this is already a very dangerous condition.
However, the worst effect is exerted directly on the woman, and not on the fetus. For example, sometimes the following symptoms are noted:
- decreased heart rate, sweating, impaired cardiac activity;
- headache;
- anxiety;
- weakness;
- dizziness;
- nausea and vomiting, increased urine production (with too rapid administration or consumption of the drug intravenously / intramuscularly);
- bloating, stomach cramps.
Pulmonary edema may occur. And this condition is already extremely dangerous. Sometimes it leads to death at all. All this should be known to any patient when consulting a doctor.
Additional recommendations
Trying to understand why magnesia is given to pregnant women, it is worth considering that this method of therapy is justified in a number of situations. Impact covers both neurology and blood vessels. The tool eliminates quite dangerous symptoms. Elements enter the fetus through the placenta. Due to the many risks involved, it is imperative that the physician accurately answer the question of why the pregnant woman is given magnesia. Only then its beneficial effect will be higher than harm.
The substance is used for many reasons only in a hospital. As a rule, the sooner it is applied, the forecasts will be worse. A major role is played at what trimester the use of this compound began. For example, if in the early stages, doctors see the likelihood of a miscarriage, they first of all try to maintain a stable condition of the woman by other methods, without resorting to magnesia.
Be sure to keep in mind that a full-fledged study of the effects of sulfate on the fetus has not been implemented in practice, and at the beginning of each pregnancy, when all the internal systems of the fetus are just being formed, all medications that can only be used must be limited.
Conclusion
Pregnancy brings a lot of questions, one of the most important concerns taking medications. It is necessary to know the answer to the question of why pregnant women are given magnesia, remember the incompatibility of this composition with other drugs. Only in this way will it be possible to reduce the risks for both the woman and the fetus.
Do not rely too much on the effective effect of sulfate, remembering that in the Western world they have refused frequent use of the drug. The effects of magnesia during pregnancy can be justified and not. This must be taken into account when deciding on the use of such a drug in the treatment of a pregnant woman.