By Carrie Lock
The danger of lead poisoning is well known, but how best to protect infants from its effects hasn’t been established. Scientists have now shown that by taking calcium supplements during pregnancy, a mother can significantly reduce the lead exposure of her fetus. Unfortunately, the protection isn’t complete.
Lead is chemically similar to calcium, so some adults carry lead in their skeletons. During the late stages of pregnancy, a mother’s bones sometimes dissolve slightly to provide her baby with calcium for its skeleton. Scientists thought that providing plenty of calcium to a pregnant woman would prevent her bones from dissolving and thus keep locked in her skeleton whatever lead had accumulated there during her life.