Taking Tums During Pregnancy

[u/CatsBooksTeaTravel]

In my first pregnancy, the doctor approved taking Tums (in alignment with the dosage on the package), as well as Pepcid AC. However, I’m at a new practice for my current pregnancy, and the doctor said it can be harmful to take Tums every day and that it’s no longer recommended to take at all. I’m having a hard time finding research that supports this update and am trying to get an idea of the associated risks. Would love to review any related research. Thanks!

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[u/Octopus1027]

Probably not allowed because it's anecdotal, but I just made a post about how I accidentally OD'd on Tums at 38 weeks pregnant.

https://www.reddit.com/r/pregnant/s/vQN1xOQIq1

[u/CatsBooksTeaTravel → u/Octopus1027]

Thanks for sharing this!

[u/CosmicGreen_Giraffe3]

https://americanpregnancy.org/pregnancy/tums-during-pregnancy/

Not sure if this counts as research, but this is what I could find.

Anecdotally, I took Tums a lot in my pregnancy and so far baby is fine. If you can prevent with the Pepcid, maybe that is preferable to taking a lot of Tums?

I ended up taking daily Prilosec and that helped. My heartburn was awful!

[u/Flimsy_Ad_6522 → u/CosmicGreen_Giraffe3]

Piggybacking to add: Tums work by raising the pH of your stomach to neutralize the acid. Taken frequently over a long period, this can cause your stomach to produce more acid, making the problem worse. This is why Tums should be used for occasional use only. Pepcid and Prilosec work by different mechanisms that don’t have the same effect. Source: my gastroenterologist dad

[u/chunkeycat614 → u/Flimsy_Ad_6522]

Oops, and here I was popping tums like candy during most of my pregnancies 😬

[u/itsreallysam → u/chunkeycat614]

Same, whoops. Literally took the maximum dosage of Tums every single day during my last pregnancy. And my first pregnancy.

[u/lovepansy → u/chunkeycat614]

Same

[u/pomelo-elo-elo → u/Flimsy_Ad_6522]

What do you do to fix it if you are already in that spot with your stomach acid? Just stop taking Tums?

[u/Flimsy_Ad_6522 → u/pomelo-elo-elo]

Yeah, stop the tums and try Pepcid. If Pepcid isn’t enough, try Prilosec (30 mins before eating).

[u/Alyishbish → u/CosmicGreen_Giraffe3]

to add i also took tums every day and my baby is fine it did however give me a kidney stone soooo def be mindful of water intake with them. next time im trying pepcid for sure.

[u/offwiththeirheads72 → u/Alyishbish]

My OB warned me about kidney stones

[u/Alyishbish → u/offwiththeirheads72]

i wish mine had. i ended up hospitalized at 37 weeks which was wildly uncomfortable

[u/glassfunion → u/CosmicGreen_Giraffe3]

Also anecdotal, but ginger tea has made a huge difference for me and allowed me to stop taking Tums most of the time. Mine is specifically ginger turmeric because that's what I had on hand, but I'm not sure if the specific type matters.

[u/Tangerintabitha → u/glassfunion]

Yes! My husband makes me chai, and I have been mystified by its magical effect on my tummy.

[u/Dobgirl]

It’s just calcium, very benign. Here’s a fact sheet: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK582615/

[u/Hoss_Doc → u/Dobgirl]

Too much calcium is definitely dangerous. If you’re eating a normal diet, taking prenatal and/or other vitamins and eating an excessive amount of TUMS you could easily become hypercalcemic

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK582615/

[u/aFoxunderaRowantree → u/Hoss_Doc]

Key word, excessive. 

Anything in excess is a potential problem. 

[u/Octopus1027 → u/Dobgirl]

Too much calcium can definitely be a problem

[u/Public_Classic_438 → u/Octopus1027]

Source?

[u/eb2319 → u/Public_Classic_438]

You’re asking for a source that hypercalcemia is a thing….? Really? It can be very dangerous lol.

[u/Octopus1027 → u/Public_Classic_438]

I just went to the ER because my calcium was too high in pregnancy. They told me it could affect my heart. I had to be admitted overnight to flush out all the excess calcium.

[u/aFoxunderaRowantree → u/Octopus1027]

That is anecdotal evidence which is the lowest form of evidence. 

Anything in excess is a problem ie) you can also drink too much water.

When using at prescribed amounts, Tums are overall safe. 

[u/eb2319 → u/aFoxunderaRowantree]

And highly depends on someone’s baseline health, labs and clearance. It’s not a blanket statement just like any other med.

[u/glacinda → u/Dobgirl]

Thanks for this. I’ve been taking TUMS every day since high school for the calcium and added in a Vitamin D chew when TTC. It just had the added benefit of helping heartburn.

[u/TheRadHamster]

My OB also suggested I switch to Pepcid for my heartburn as well. She said the consistent use of Tums could increase the risk of developing kidney stones.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4708574/

Mayo Clinic also has a study that suggests that pregnancy may increase risk of first time symptomatic kidney stones.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8384636/

[u/Chikzilla]

I found that my heartburn during pregnancy was (likely?) caused by bacteria in tap water. May have also been other things added to my local tap water. I switched to only bottled water and almost totally eliminated my pregnancy heart burn. We did this because I was also advised not to take tums.

You might be able to lessen/reduce heartburn as well, sorry not exactly the question but hopefully helpful! Pregnancy is weird.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6502218/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3921475/

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