Hydrogen Supports Full-term Pregnancy
Mitochondrial function gets a boost from H2
Summary
A 2022 Nagoya University study found that pregnant women who exhaled more molecular hydrogen (H2) at 27 to 33 weeks were more likely to carry pregnancy to full term.
In the lab, adding H2 to immune cells from pregnant women increased mitochondrial respiration and calmed inflammatory T cells. In mice, H2 given before an inflammatory trigger reduced preterm birth.
Separate work in rats shows hydrogen reduces placental oxidative stress and blood pressure in a preeclampsia model, which may reduce the risk of metabolic complications during pregnancy.
The Problem With Hydrogen Research
Molecular hydrogen is the smallest of all molecules. It cannot be contained in storage bottles. That's why hydrogen therapies must generate H2 gas via electrolysis at the point of administration, and it's also why hydrogen produced via fermentation in the colon will travel throughout the entire body, including to the mitochondria. Hydrogen gas is such a small molecule that it will pass thru the gut lining and transit cell and mitochondrial membranes, where it will promote improved mitochondrial function.
Last week, I got a question from a friend about the effects of hydrogen during pregnancy. After all, anything that supports mitochondria is likely to be beneficial for the baby, right?
The question sent me straight to the scientific literature. I was afraid that there would be zero data on hydrogen during pregnancy, because who in their right mind would do experiments on alternative biohacking health treatments with pregnant women?
But there IS data, and it looks pretty good.
The Human Data
When Japanese researchers compared breath hydrogen concentrations in the breath of women who carried full term to those who birthed preterm, that lower concentrations of hydrogen were associated with preterm birth. Each additional ppm of H2 in the breath lowered corresponded to lower rosk of preterm birth, after adjusting for age, BMI, infertility treatment, and bacterial vaginosis. In fact, none of the women with high hydrogen delivered preterm (Aoki et al. 2022).
Because none of these women were taking hydrogen therapy, the source of hydrogen in their breath had to be fermentation of soluble fiber in their own gut, which is a function of diet and gut microbiome. This suggests that hydrogen in the breath is a marker of a healthy gut. Sure enough, women with low hydrogen also had less of a gut bacterial family called Lachnospiraceae that produces butyrate -- a metabolite that typically supports healthy mitochondrial function. Nonetheless, to test the direct effects of hydrogen gas on mitochondria, the researchers extracted cells from pregnant women to test in vitro. Those mitochondria exposed to hydrogen (+) exhibited increased basal respiration, better ATP production, and greater spare respiratory capacity.
The Mouse Experiment
Rather than experiment with hydrogen therapy on pregnant women, the Japanese researchers elected to administer hydrogen to pregnant mice. By administering an antibody that activates T cells, the scientists can trigger preterm labor in the mice. However, mice given hydrogen water two days before administration of the antibody carried their pups longer, with lower uterine inflammatory gene expression and fewer uterine CD4 T cells than a control group.
Preeclampsia: Hydrogen and the Placenta
Preeclampsia means a dangerous pregnancy. It is characterized by high blood pressure, protein in the urine, and a placenta under oxidative stress. My wife was only 22 when she gave birth to her first son, but she suffered from preeclampsia and he was born premature. When she became pregnant with our son, she was determined to avoid preeclampsia a second time. We didn't know it at the time, but preeclampsia is associated with metabolic disorder. It emerges when mitochondria becoming increasing dysfunctional and the physiological insulin resistance that occurs during pregnancy becomes pathological. To reduce her risk, my wife increased her protein and fat intake and reduced her carbohydrates.
It worked. Our baby, her second son, was carried past his calculated due date.
Because hydrogen is thought to improve mitochondrial function, we should observe reduced risk of preeclampsia resulting from hydrogen therapy -- which is exactly what a Chinese research team noticed in rat models of preeclampsia.
In animals, preeclampsia can be induced by administering a drug that blocks nitric oxide. When the drug was administered in combination with hydrogen-infused saline, the research team observed several beneficial markers:
Systolic blood pressure rose to 158 mmHg in the control group, but only 137 mmHg with hydrogen.
Urine protein went from 0.99 to 3.92 mg per day in the control, but only 2.39 mg with hydrogen.
Fetal weight dropped from 3.13 g to 1.93 g in the control, but only dropped to 2.53 g with hydrogen.
Moreover, markers of lipid damage in the placenta were better in the hydrogen group. The research team concluded that the hydrogen lowered oxidative stress and inflammatory markers in the the rat placenta (Guo et al. 2023).
How to Get Hydrogen?
Depsite the data supporting the benefits of hydrogen during pregnancy, I could not recommend the hydrogen-infused Morozko Mineral Bath to my friend -- at least not at the hot temperatures it is designed for. As I wrote in Cold Plunge During Pregnancy, heat is dangerous for pregnant women. She could use the Mineral Bath, but only if she was able to set the temperature below thermoneutrality (about 93F) -- which is not designed to do.
Nonetheless, there are other ways to dose hydrogen without having to eat a lot of soluble fiber. For her, I like hydrogen water, because it will support a healthy gut microbiome in addition to reaching the bloodstream. However, a more direct source of hydrogen is inhallation. My friend Alex Tarnava has just launched the most advanced hydrogen generation machine for inhallation anywhere in the world, and she might do well to look at https://inhaleh2.com/ if she (or anyone else) is curious. I haven't yet tried it myself, and I'm not making a medical recommendation.
I'm an engineer, not a physician.
All I can do is tell you what I read in the library and encourage you to share your experiences with me and the rest of the world as you discover what works for you.
On the other hand, if you're not pregnant, then I've dropped a link to the Morozko Mineral bath below because it may be the best way to enjoy mitochondrial benefits in a bath without having to endure the discomfort of the cold.
References
Aoki C, Imai K, Mizutani T, et al. Molecular hydrogen has a positive impact on pregnancy maintenance through enhancement of mitochondrial function and immunomodulatory effects on T cells. Life Sciences. 2022;308:120955. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lfs.2022.120955
Guo L, Liu M, Duan T. Hydrogen suppresses oxidative stress by inhibiting the p38 MAPK signaling pathway in preeclampsia. Adv Clin Exp Med. 2023;32(3):357-367. https://doi.org/10.17219/acem/154623
About the Author
Thomas P Seager, PhD is an Associate Professor in the School of Sustainable Engineering at Arizona State University. Seager co-founded the Morozko Forge ice bath company and is an expert in the use of ice baths for0building metabolic and psychological resilience.
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