Homocysteine is a substance that is formed directly in the body during the processing of the amino acid methionine. The last person receives along with food. Products such as meat, eggs and all fermented milk products are especially rich in healthy acids. All B vitamins, especially vitamins B6 and B12, as well as folic acid, are involved in the formation of homocysteine.
Over the course of life, the level of a given substance in the blood tends to gradually increase. For men, this indicator is higher than for women in the age period up to 50 years. Increased homocysteine during pregnancy can lead to serious complications, including spontaneous abortion, that is, a miscarriage. In addition, there is a possibility that it will damage the vessels, making their walls more loose. As a result, it becomes easier to deposit cholesterol and calcium on the walls of blood vessels and form a so-called cholesterol plaque. This state of affairs contributes to the emergence of blood clots, which is quite dangerous not only for health but also for human life. According to statistics, for women, the risk of such complications is higher than for men by as much as 20 percent.
Increased homocysteine during pregnancy can be due to many reasons, for example, smoking, drinking alcohol and even large quantities of coffee. In the past few years, cases of miscarriage in women are quite common, and this indicator increases every year. And if you managed to maintain the pregnancy and bear the fetus normally, then during the birth process, increased homocysteine during pregnancy will make itself felt, since complications of a thrombotic or microcircular nature often arise.
One of the worst pathologies is infertility, which occurs due to a defect during implantation of the embryo. In the second and third trimester of pregnancy, a violation of the level of homocysteine in the blood leads to the formation of late gestosis, and in rare cases, fetal asphyxiation occurs, that is, asphyxiation of an unborn child. Often, women with such a diagnosis give birth to babies with very low weight and face a whole "bunch" of diseases even in their newborn age.
Homocysteine during pregnancy is able to freely penetrate the message system of the child and the mother's body through the placenta, and already in the early stages it negatively affects the development of the fetus. As a result, at this stage some pathologies arise. Reduced homocysteine during pregnancy can also negatively affect a woman’s well-being. But a slight decrease in the level of this substance in the blood is considered normal for a woman in an interesting position and does not require medical treatment.
There is a separate category of ladies whom doctors recommend testing for homocysteine in the blood. These can be safely attributed to women who are planning a second pregnancy, or those who have complications found in the second and third trimester, for example, a fetus size mismatch with the existing term. It is customary to include pregnant women with a genetic predisposition or special hereditary pathologies, as their treatment can lead to an increase in homocysteine in the blood. It also includes all women with a risk of blood clots, the so-called thrombophilia, in particular, pregnant women with an end to the development of the fetus at an early stage or its miscarriage.
Homocysteine: the norm in pregnancy
In women in position, the standard value of this indicator ranges from 4.6 to 12.4 μmol / L. Minor deviations are allowed and do not pose any danger to the health of both the expectant mother and the baby. But even small changes, such as a decrease or increase in the level of this substance by more than 0.5, are already unacceptable.