Supplements for a strong amniotic sac

[TwilightJoy]

Good morning, ladies!

I'd really like to avoid PROM and have a strong amniotic sac (baby born in the caul would be ideal). I've been doing research and I've heard the following recommendations for a strong sac:

- Vitamin C
- Zinc
- RRL Tea
- Protein

Do you know of anything else that will help strengthen the amniotic sac?

Also, I'm already 25 weeks along, is it "too late" for me to start these or will starting them this late help with making the sac stronger?

Thank you!

[Lazurii]

My friend swore by Vitamin E.  She had premature labors with all her kids.  With her last her midwife suggested E for a stronger sac.  At the birth the midwife had a very difficult time breaking the sac (this was 20 years ago).  So, that's my recommendation.
 

[velveeta]

Vitamin c towers over all other supplements for this purpose. I take 8,000 mg (total) in two doses daily. Google Linus Pauling (Nobel prize winning chemist) and vitamin c and pregnancy.

[Quinalla]

I don't think it is too late, still lots of time to beef it up. My DD's water did not break until near the end of pushing and I did RRL tea & vitamin C & protein last time, this time I have added zinc & E too. I am trying to remember if fish oil helps with this or not, can't recall, but I have been better about that this time than last.

[TwilightJoy]

Originally Posted by velveeta 

Vitamin c towers over all other supplements for this purpose. I take 8,000 mg (total) in two doses daily. Google Linus Pauling (Nobel prize winning chemist) and vitamin c and pregnancy.

8000mg every day? Oh goodness that's a lot. Is it SA? Does it cause stomach/bowel issues for you?

[womenswisdom]

All I can find about vitamin C in pregnancy is that babies can develop scurvy-like symptoms when their mothers take high doses during pregnancy.

[velveeta]

Usually beyond 8,000 mg is the point where a concern if rebound scurvy for the newborn appears. Vitamin c bowel tolerance rises with the body's need for vitamin c. If you really need it at a certain dose, you won't reach bowel tolerance. I am surprised that was all you found in your searches.

http://www.doctoryourself.com/pregnancy_lactation.html a couple of paragraphs down, Dr. Saul discusses Dr. Klenner's work with vitamin c in pregnancy. Fascinating!

[Lazurii]

Originally Posted by velveeta 

http://www.doctoryourself.com/pregnancy_lactation.html a couple of paragraphs down, Dr. Saul discusses Dr. Klenner's work with vitamin c in pregnancy. Fascinating!

Wow, what a fascinating link.  Thank you for sharing it!

[TwilightJoy]

Yes, thank you for that link! Do you know what kind of vitamin c? Is it SA? Powdered SA is what I have on hand. When fighting a cold, I take 1/2 t (2g) every hour until my stomach starts rumbling. Usually that's before 2 teaspoons. The most I've done this pregnancy is 1 t, 1 day and I did feel the bowel effects later that day.

[TwilightJoy]

Originally Posted by Quinalla 

I don't think it is too late, still lots of time to beef it up. My DD's water did not break until near the end of pushing and I did RRL tea & vitamin C & protein last time, this time I have added zinc & E too. I am trying to remember if fish oil helps with this or not, can't recall, but I have been better about that this time than last.

Thank you!

How much zinc and E are you doing? I went out tonight and bought a bottle of each.

[womenswisdom]

Looking through pubmed at the studies, I found several studies which show that high dose vitamin C supplementation increases the risk of PROM such as:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18928997
"Contrary to expectations, vitamins C and E supplementation in this dose combination may be associated with an increased risk of PROM and PPROM."

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3380625/
"Women supplemented with vitamins C and E were at increased risk of developing gestational hypertension and premature rupture of membranes, and a decreased risk of abruptio placentae. There were no significant differences between the vitamin and placebo groups in the risk of other adverse maternal or fetal/perinatal outcomes."

And a Cochrane Review:
http://summaries.cochrane.org/CD004072/vitamin-c-supplementation-in-pregnancy

My general feeling is that if you can't get it from non-supplemental means, it probably doesn't belong in my diet. 8,000mg of vitamin C is virtually impossible to take in from real food sources.

[SaraR]

Just wanted to thank you all for posting your answers! I PPROMed with my 3rd baby at 27 weeks (born at 30w4d). I'd like to avoid that if we have more children.

[Quinalla]

Originally Posted by TwilightJoy 

Originally Posted by Quinalla 

I don't think it is too late, still lots of time to beef it up. My DD's water did not break until near the end of pushing and I did RRL tea & vitamin C & protein last time, this time I have added zinc & E too. I am trying to remember if fish oil helps with this or not, can't recall, but I have been better about that this time than last.

Thank you!

How much zinc and E are you doing? I went out tonight and bought a bottle of each.

For zinc, 30mg a day split up over 2-3 times a day. I take a Calcium/Mag/Zinc/D3 supplement to fill out after my morning prenatal. Calcium & Mag & D3 are great for other pregnancy stuff, but not for amniotic sac, but you may want to consider that.
For E, 800 IU of vitamin E a day, So an 400 IU E supplement to fill out after my morning prenatal.

[velveeta]

Womenswisdom, I used to believe, like you, that vitamins, especially in megadoses, were not necessary bc they did not occur in nature. I actually thought they were dangerous. I was exposed to the scholarship of Abram Hoffer, and as I mentioned further on, Linus Pauling, recipient of two, unshared Nobel prizes. Both postulated the revolutionary idea that humans are evolving in response to their nutritional and environmental surroundings (toxins and so forth).

In our family, we juice, make green smoothies, and prepare foods using traditional methods and ingredients.

There is a wonderfully illustrative discussion of vitamin C in evolutionary biology in Steve Hickey's excellent book: Vitamin C, the Remarkable and Contraversial Healing Factor. Many mammals have stopped producing their own vitamin C, over time. Humans are one such animal, and perhaps it is bc we have had vitamin c in abundance in our environment. In any case, I invite anyone interested to explore further.

The studies you cited used 1,000 mg of vitamin C. Almost no one would take issue with a dosage available in an ordinary packet of Emergen-C. Personally, I feel great about taking megadoses of nutrients while pregnant. A mere 1,000 mg stresses me out, as a minute dose! LOL.

I've mentioned on other threads discussing vitamins that I became interested in this area of research when all three of my children (one under one year at the time) became gravely ill with whooping cough. Because Vitamin C is antibacterial, and antiviral in gram level doses, I treated my children with 25-30 grams of vitamin C. (Divided doses, of course). They were well in days.

Great terms to google are cancer and vitamin c, megavitamin therapy, Klenner and vitamin C.

[womenswisdom]

So if doses at 1,000mg have been shown to increase rates of PROM as compared to a lower dose, how does it follow that a dose 8 times higher would decrease the risk? I have still not been able to find any peer-reviewed studies showing this to be the case but would love to see them posted if you have them.

[Miss Ess]

We had PPROM with our first birth at 35w2d, and are definitely hoping to avoid this again.

I am trying to up my protein intake further, but am finding it SO hard to eat enough.

Started taking RRL two weeks a go, 1 cup of Traditional Medicinals every other day for now. My midwife is pretty comfortable with me taking it, and so far so good, but I'm still being pretty cautious about it.

She's also suggested that taking spirulina might be beneficial, and it does seem to be very high in protein. So we might give that a try as well.

[TwilightJoy]

I'm being intentional with my supplements and tea. Sending strong sac vibes to all of you ladies!

[Calladona]

I wanted to add not to forget your probiotics.  Remember that sometimes YIs or other vaginal imbalances have sometimes been linked with PTL and/or PROM.  Good luck to all!

[swissmiss2584]

My md suggested Floradix and I know protein is suppose to make the membranes stronger.

[JudiAU]

My water broke prior to term labor with all three kids. My midwife advised me *not* to supplement with vit c outside of normal prenatals because, more of less, this is how my body labors.