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Ketone bodies in pregnancy

, medical expert
Last reviewed: 05.07.2025
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Ketone bodies during pregnancy is another test that a future mother needs to take. Ketone bodies are found in urine and help determine how the pregnancy is progressing, whether there is an infection in the body or everything is fine. It will be useful for any woman to know why it is necessary to take urine tests so often during pregnancy and what can be learned from it. Let's consider what ketone bodies are, how they affect pregnancy, and what their norm is in the urine of a pregnant woman.

Ketone bodies during pregnancy should be contained in small quantities in urine. As a rule, the release of ketone bodies per knock is from 20 to 50 mg. In a general urine analysis, these indicators are almost imperceptible. Therefore, every pregnant woman should take special tests to determine this indicator.

  • Increased ketone bodies in urine is considered a pathology, that is, ketonuria. Ketone bodies during pregnancy appear if there is an infection in the female body, they can also indicate early toxicosis.
  • Ketone bodies poison the pregnant woman's body with acetone, which complicates the process of bearing a baby. Ketone body surges can be observed with a sharp decrease in the pregnant woman's weight, but this is observed in the first months of pregnancy, during the period of toxicosis.
  • Sometimes ketone bodies indicate that a pregnant woman has problems with the liver, as well as with the digestive system due to improper, unbalanced nutrition.

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Ketone body levels during pregnancy

The norm of ketone bodies during pregnancy is their absence. Although, per day the body produces about 20-50 mg of ketone bodies, which are excreted in the urine. If ketone bodies are found in the tests of a pregnant woman, this may indicate:

  • In addition to ketone bodies, the female body contains sugar, which means that the pregnant woman most likely has diabetes.
  • Ketone bodies in urine may indicate that the woman had nutritional problems before taking the test. The pregnant woman ate fatty foods, which caused the increase in ketones.

Ketone bodies during pregnancy are an indicator that helps to monitor the course of pregnancy. In order for ketone bodies to be normal, it is necessary to lead a healthy lifestyle and maintain a balanced diet.

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Ketone bodies in urine during pregnancy

Ketone bodies in urine during pregnancy are a substance that is formed during the oxidation of proteins and fats in the body. That is why, during pregnancy, it is necessary to carefully monitor the diet and not eat salty, smoked or fried foods. If the indicator is too high, but everything is fine with the female body, then the problem may be in taking medications or vitamins. In this case, the pregnant woman should stop taking medications and take a repeat test.

Ketone bodies include acetoacetic acid, beta-hydroxybutyric acid and acetone. In the body of a pregnant woman, the ketone body index can increase due to glucose deficiency, which leads to a number of pathologies. Problems with ketone bodies may indicate that the pregnant woman is sick with:

  • Diabetes mellitus (decompensated).
  • Severe infectious processes in the body.
  • Elevated corticosteroid levels.
  • Thyrotoxicosis.
  • Eating foods low in carbohydrates or not eating at all.
  • Gierke's disease or comatose state.

It is worth remembering that energy processes in the body of a pregnant woman proceed very quickly, so the unborn baby, like its mother, may have a lack of glucose. To prevent this from happening, and all the tests are normal, a pregnant woman should ensure that her diet is complete, balanced and regular.

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