Differential impacts of pregnancy and lactation on maternal calcium homeostasis: a mathematical modeling analysis

Abstract

The maternal physiological adaptations during pregnancy and lactation impact almost all tissues and organs, including those involved in calcium homeostasis. Despite having a similar additional calcium demand, maternal adaptations in pregnancy and lactation are different. During pregnancy, the mother’s body increases intestinal absorption of calcium. However, during lactation, intestinal absorption returns to normal levels and the calcium needs of breastmilk are met by increased bone resorption and renal calcium reabsorption. Existing mathematical models of calcium homeostasis do not consider these unique physiological states. Given this observation, the goal of this project is to develop the first pregnancy- and lactation-specific mathematical models of calcium regulation. The resulting models represent how a female body adapts to support the excess demands brought on by pregnancy and lactation. Our computational models reveal how both differential adaptations support calcium delivery to the fetus and breastmilk while maintaining normal calcium ranges in the maternal body. This work is supported by the Canada 150 Research Chair program and by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2023 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.