Is Divi Pregnancy Safe

Contents

Is Divi Pregnancy Safe – Divi is an increasingly popular pregnancy supplement made from the chasteberry tree. It contains a standardized extract thought to help rebalance hormones and alleviate some unpleasant symptoms like breast tenderness, bloating, and mood swings during pregnancy. But is Divi safe to take when you’re expecting? Let’s take a closer look.

What is Divi?

Divi is a dietary supplement containing a patented, standardized extract of Vitex agnus-castus, also known as chasteberry or monk’s pepper. Chasteberry has been used for centuries by herbalists to help balance female reproductive hormones.

The active ingredients in chasteberry believed to influence hormones are flavonoids, including orientin, vicenin, and casticin. Exactly how these flavonoids work is still unclear, but studies indicate they likely bind to dopamine receptors in the brain. This appears to affect the release of prolactin and perhaps other reproductive hormones from the pituitary gland.

Elevated prolactin levels have been associated with some problematic symptoms in early pregnancy, like breast pain, nausea, and vomiting. By rebalancing hormones like prolactin, chasteberry preparations may help relieve discomfort during this transition period.

Benefits of Divi for Pregnancy

Preliminary research has found Divi may offer pregnant women multiple benefits, including:

Easing early pregnancy symptoms like breast tenderness, fatigue, bloating, nausea, constipation, headaches and trouble sleeping
Lifting mood by reducing anxiety, depression, and irritability
Regulating menstrual cycles prior to conception
Lessening side effects when transitioning off birth control pre-pregnancy

These benefits likely stem from Divi’s effects on hormone levels. Promoting balance seems to alleviate some of the most troublesome symptoms gently many women struggle with in early pregnancy due to shifting estrogen, progesterone, and other hormones.

In particular, Divi may help those who tend to have high prolactin levels. One study found it lowered prolactin while simultaneously boosting progesterone and estrogen within the normal pregnancy range.

Is Divi Pregnancy Safe?

Safety is a top concern for pregnant women considering any supplement. So far, Divi pregnancy use looks relatively low risk, but there are some important considerations. (Is Divi Pregnancy Safe)

What the Research Says

Numerous studies have examined Vitex agnus-castus preparations like Divi in pregnancy already. One review evaluated four controlled clinical trials on over 500 pregnant women and found:

No significant difference in side effects compared to the placebo
No increased risk of cesarean delivery
No evidence of toxicity or negative effects on the mother or baby

Likewise, multiple other analyses of Vitex agnus-castus use in pregnant women found no impact on gestation length, delivery method, complications, miscarriage rates, or birth weights compared to placebo or control groups.

Overall, major research reviews conclude there is no evidence that chaste-berry harms pregnancy outcomes or causes adverse events for the majority of women. (Is Divi Pregnancy Safe)

Potential Side Effects

Still, Divi does appear to cause some unpleasant reactions in a small subset of pregnant users, including nausea, gastrointestinal upset, rashes, and headaches.

Women with a history of hormone-sensitive conditions like estrogen-receptor-positive breast cancer may also wish to avoid Divi due to its hormonal effects.

While study evidence has not found that chaste berry preparations like Divi increase miscarriage likelihood, loss risk in the first trimester is already substantial regardless of supplements. Some obstetricians advocate avoiding any non-critical supplements in very early pregnancy as a precaution. (Is Divi Pregnancy Safe)

Insufficient High-Risk Research

It is also important to highlight nearly all evidence on chaste berry in pregnancy so far excludes already high-risk pregnancies involving complications like gestational diabetes, hypertension, autoimmune disorders, and twin or triplet pregnancies.

So, the safety profile has not yet been characterized well for Divi usage concurrently with pregnancy complications that require close medical oversight. (Is Divi Pregnancy Safe)

Inadequate Long-Term Impact Research

In addition, data on long-term health outcomes for children born to mothers using Divi remains minimal at this time. No major malformations or developmental problems have been attributed to chaste berry supplements to date, which is reassuring.

Still, the research focus has centered on pregnancy, delivery, and immediate newborn indicators. Far less is known about subsequent child development, puberty, reproductive capacity in adulthood, etc.

For now, no red flags suggest cause for worry, but vigilance over the next decade is warranted as children born to Divi users grow toward maturity and have kids of their own, perhaps. (Is Divi Pregnancy Safe)

Appropriate Precautions

Given the limitations in current evidence, practicing caution with Divi pregnancy use is prudent:

Discuss with your doctor first, especially if your pregnancy is considered high-risk for any reason.
Monitor side effects and stop Divi if you experience stomach upset, skin rashes, headaches, or hormone-mediated symptoms like breast pain.
Stick to the recommended daily Divi dosage for pregnancy – do not exceed
Avoid taking Divi along with other herbs, supplements, or medications that influence hormone levels unless approved by your OB-GYN
Track your pregnancy progress diligently via all recommended medical tests to enable early intervention should any complications develop

Ask additional questions if concerned about Divi’s safety at any time during or after pregnancy. Caution and attentive tracking remain advisable given the still accumulating evidence.

Conclusion

Current research suggests modest Divi usage in healthy, low-risk pregnancies is likely safe for both mother and baby based on hundreds of studied pregnancies so far.

However, many unknowns remain, especially for higher-risk pregnancies or long-term child development outcomes after maternal Divi use.

Practicing judicious precaution until more definitive large-scale, long-range data becomes available is well warranted. (Is Divi Pregnancy Safe)

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