Can i have phenylalanine while pregnant

Static recommendations throughout all stages of pregnancy are not appropriate because of the multitude of adaptations the human body goes through during gestation. Whether phenylalanine requirements differ between different stages of gestation is unknown. In addition, phenylalanine is the precursor for tyrosine, which is a conditionally indispensable amino acid. Together they are referred to as the aromatic amino acids.

The investigators will recruit healthy pregnant women aged 20 to 40 in their 13thth week of gestation or 33rd to 39th week of gestation. Once they get in contact with the lab, an initial visit pre-study will take place. Here, the participants will be measured for their eligibility and taken through the consent form. They have to participate in a pre-study for each stage of pregnancy, if they wish to participate in both stages.

If they meet all the criteria and agree to participate, they will return for up to two study days per stage of 8 hours each. Therefore, if they are recruited during late pregnancy they are only able to participate in two study days in total.

During these study days they will be fed protein shakes containing the stable isotope, and then oxidation of this isotope will be measured to determine a breakpoint requirement of phenylalanine.

Breath samples, urine samples, and a small blood sample will be taken during the study day. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contacts provided below.

For general information, Learn About Clinical Studies. Hide glossary Glossary Study record managers: refer to the Data Element Definitions if submitting registration or results information. During the pregnancy, the baby is monitored by detailed targeted ultrasound to assess growth and to look for birth defects. This is usually done by a specialist who has extra training in detailed ultrasound and is aware of the birth defects and growth problems that babies of PKU mothers can have.

Whether the baby gets PKU is not related to the degree of metabolic control that the mother had during the pregnancy. PKU is an autosomal recessive genetic disorder. PKU individuals lack normal genes we have two copies that make the enzyme that metabolizes phenylalanine.

Each baby born of a mother who has PKU will at least carry one nonfunctioning gene for the enzyme that he or she got from his mother. If the baby inherits a normal gene from the father, the baby will only be a carrier for PKU and be essentially normal in metabolism of phenylalanine not have PKU. The probability of inheriting an abnormal PKU gene from the father is very unlikely unless the father has PKU also, or if PKU runs in his family, or he is related to the mother in some way.

All these situations make the chances that the father has a nonfunctioning PKU gene higher. Overall, if a mother with PKU has a child with a healthy father who is not related to her nor has PKU in his family, the chance that the baby will get PKU is estimated to be 1 in , or very unlikely. This is a general estimate.

Couples in which one individual has PKU are encouraged to obtain specific genetic counseling to address the particular risk for them. Males with PKU appear not to have major difficulty in production of sperm and thus fathering children. The wife of a man with PKU does not have extra problems becoming pregnant, or having a healthy baby.

There appears to be no increase in birth defects if the father of a baby has PKU. It should be remembered that all couples have a small chance of having a baby with a birth defect or genetic problem even if they do not have PKU. Still, the truth is that sugar substitutes can be a bit of a mixed bag for pregnant women. Even though they are mostly considered safe, artificial sweeteners in particular may increase your baby's risk of being overweight later on.

Here's what you need to know about the different types of artificial sweeteners and sugar substitutes you might see on food and beverage labels. Examples include:.

According to the FDA, aspartame is safe for use during pregnancy and while breastfeeding. A packet or two of the blue stuff now and then is fine so yes, a small piece of sugarless gum is safe — just avoid consuming aspartame during pregnancy in large amounts, and steer clear of it altogether if phenylketonuria PKU , a rare genetic disease, is on your medical chart.

Your doctor may also suggest avoiding aspartame if you have high levels of phenylalanine in your blood. The FDA says sucralose is safe for everyone to consume, including pregnant women. It's sugar, sort of. At least it starts out that way, before being chemically processed into a form that your body won't be able to absorb, making it sweet revenge it's calorie-free.

Sucralose has been approved for use in baked goods, making it ready to fulfill your pregnancy cravings of sugar-free chocolate cake!

Before you leap to consume all these tasty treats, remember everything in moderation. Stevia is a zero-calorie sweetener derived from a South American shrub. Although experts do say stevia does not pose some of the same dangers of sweet addiction that other artificial sweeteners do it does not raise your blood sugar or have any adverse effects on your taste buds your best bet is to check with your doctor before using it.

Even though the FDA does consider saccharin to be safe to use for the general public, saccharin may pose a risk of increased bladder tumors in children who are exposed to it in utero.

In fact, saccharin has been banned in some countries as an artificial sweetener. The American Dietetic Association ADA says that saccharin can cross the placenta and stay in the baby's tissues, and the long-term effects, if any, are unknown. Although it is not used as much today as in the past, it still appears in many foods and beverages. Pregnant women may want to avoid this artificial sweetener, if possible. Sorbitol, a nutritive sweetener, is fine for women during pregnancy.

But while it can't hurt your baby, it can have unpleasant gastro effects on you: in large doses, sorbitol can cause an upset stomach and diarrhea — something no pregnant woman wants to have diarrhea during pregnancy , besides being uncomfortable, can interfere with the absorption of vital nutrients, plus lead to dehydration.

What's more, sorbitol has more calories than other sugar substitutes and can lead to excess pregnancy weight gain if you overdo it. Xylitol, a sugar alcohol, is commonly found in chewing gum, toothpaste and candies, and is considered safe during pregnancy in moderate amounts. So, a few pieces of xylitol-sweetened gum a day is fine — but you might not want to chew through five.

If you are of childbearing age and you have phenylketonuria, talk to your doctor to make sure that you are eating a proper diet with low enough levels of phenylalanine. This is especially important if you are considering becoming pregnant, or if you are already pregnant. Ideally, your diet should be taken care of before conception.

While you are pregnant, your doctor should work in conjunction with physicians from experienced phenylketonuria centres, to make sure that you receive the best counselling for your condition. Ultrasound can be used to help detect any abnormalities in the unborn baby during pregnancy.