Prenatal vitamins: What Are They?
Prenatal vitamins are dietary supplements designed to supply expectant mothers’ bodies with the essential vitamins and minerals required for a successful pregnancy. Both before you start planning for a pregnancy and during your pregnancy, your doctor might advise you to take them.
It’s usually a good idea to eat healthily, especially when expecting. Taking vitamins during pregnancy is also a smart option if you want to fill in any nutritional deficiencies in your diet. Before taking any vitamins, supplements, or herbs while pregnant, see your doctor.
Top Vitamins for Pregnancy
You can make sure you get the nutrients you need for a healthy pregnancy by taking prenatal vitamins. The greatest prenatal vitamins ought to include:
Serial Name of Vitamins Daily Requirements
- Folic acid 400 micrograms (mcg)
- Vitamin D 600 international units (IU)
- Calcium 1,000 milligrams (mg)
- Vitamin C 80 mg
- Thiamine 1.4 mg
- Riboflavin 1.4 mg
- Niacin 18 mg
- Vitamin B12 2.6 mcg
- Vitamin B6 1.9 mg
- Vitamin E 15 mg
- Zinc 11 mg
- Iron 27 mg
- Vitamin A 770 mcg
Make sure the vitamins you choose for your pregnancy haven’t expired or are about to expire. Ensure that any dietary allergies or sensitivities you may have been not included in the ingredient list. Among the foods that contain vitamins include maize, eggs, and wheat. Ask your doctor if they have any recommendations for brands of prenatal vitamins if you are worried about their quality.
Your doctor may occasionally prescribe a specific kind of prenatal vitamin or advise you to take extra supplements.
Prenatal Vitamins: Benefits
Unlike regular vitamins, pregnancy vitamins provide the extra nutrition you need to ensure your health and the proper growth and development of your unborn child. Pregnancy-related vitamins and minerals that are particularly crucial include folic acid, iron, calcium, and iodine.
Folic acid
If you plan to become pregnant, you should start taking folic acid. Birth defects that impact the baby’s brain and spinal cord can be avoided. Since half of pregnancies are unexpected, neural tube abnormalities often develop early in pregnancy, before most women even realise they are pregnant. For this reason, physicians advise anybody who may become pregnant to take 400 micrograms of folic acid every day, beginning prior to conception and continuing for the first twelve weeks of pregnancy.
You should discuss folic acid with your healthcare professional if you gave birth to a child who had a neural tube defect. Research indicates that if you have previously given birth to a child with this defect, taking a higher dose (up to 4,000 mcg) at least one month prior to and during the first trimester may be beneficial. However, discuss what’s best for you with your doctor.
Folic acid-containing foods include:
a. Green leafy vegetables.
b. Nuts
c. Beans
d. Citrus fruits
e. Many foods fortified with folic acid.Although food is a rich source of folic acid, it’s a good idea to take a supplement as a safety measure.
Calcium
Moreover, calcium is crucial during pregnancy. As the baby utilises calcium for its own bone growth, it can help keep you from losing bone density.
Iodine
During pregnancy, iodine is essential for a healthy thyroid. A lack of iodine can result in a stillbirth or miscarriage, and it can also give birth to a baby that has:
a. Restricted physical development
b. Severe mental illness
c. DeafnessIron
Your body produces more red blood cells when it has iron in it. The infant receives the oxygen it needs to grow from these blood cells.
How Do Other Nutrients Fit In?
There are additional foods that could make your pregnancy healthier. Your physician can advise you on whether you should take any of the following supplements:
Fatty acids with omega-3 content. These fats, which are found only in dietary sources like nuts and fatty fish, include DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid). It is advised to consume 8–12 ounces of low-mercury seafood per week when pregnant. Foods high in omega-3 fatty acids include:
Shrimp, tilapia, trout, catfish, salmon and halibut.
Certain foods, such as milk and eggs, are DHA-fortified.
According to studies, taking omega-3s can reduce your chances of having a low-birth-weight baby and preterm delivery. If you don’t consume a lot of omega-3-rich food, see your doctor to see if taking a supplement may be beneficial for you. Not every prenatal tablet contains DHA.
Choline: Most of the choline comes from food, even though your body can produce some of it on its own. Fish, eggs, poultry, hog, and beef are examples of rich sources. A healthy baby’s brain development depends on choline, which is often deficient in pregnant women. Certain prenatal vitamins do not contain choline; consult your doctor or check yours.
Protein: Because your blood volume grows and you are developing new tissue, a placenta (the organ that gives your unborn child oxygen and nourishment), and a new life, you require more protein during pregnancy. Protein is needed for all of this. You should be consuming roughly 10 grammes more per day than the minimum recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for a healthy pregnancy, especially in the final trimester. Based on your weight, the recommended daily allowance (RDA) for protein is 0.36 grammes per pound, or approximately 50 grammes for non-pregnant women and 60 grammes for pregnant women.
When to Begin Taking Vitamins During Pregnancy?
Prior to conception is the ideal time to begin taking prenatal vitamins. Although prenatal vitamins cannot make you become pregnant, they can help your body acquire the nutrition it needs to get ready for pregnancy.
Even if a person has no immediate plans to become pregnant, some doctors advise everyone who may become pregnant to take prenatal vitamins. It is best to begin taking prenatal vitamins as soon as possible if you are an unexpected pregnant woman. During the first trimester, when the baby’s spinal cord and brain development is most active, the additional nutrition is beneficial.
Folic acid is particularly crucial. To avoid birth abnormalities, start taking folic acid supplements at least one month before attempting to conceive.
Side Effects of Prenatal Vitamins
Certain prenatal supplements have the potential to make a pregnant woman who is already queasy sick. Prenatal vitamins can be large due to their high nutrient content, which may make swallowing them more difficult if you’re already feeling queasy. Smaller prenatal doses administered twice a day are one alternative. Speak with your doctor if you are still unable to take supplements. They might be able to recommend an alternative form of prenatal vitamin that you don’t need to take orally. Choices consist of:
Chewable
Liquids.
Additionally, the iron in prenatal supplements may cause constipation. In order to relieve constipation, try these:
Consume a diet rich in fibre, including at least 28 grammes daily from whole grains, fruits such as apples, bananas, and berries, and legumes and split peas.
64 to 96 ounces of water should be consumed daily.
If your doctor thinks it’s okay for you, work out. Aim for roughly 2.5 hours of moderate intensity exercise each week as a decent guideline.
With your doctor’s approval, take a stool softener. Your doctor may prescribe them, or you may purchase them over the counter.
Conclusions
A healthy pregnancy requires the use of prenatal vitamins. Your doctor may prescribe them to you, or you may buy them over-the-counter. Make sure you are not sensitive to any of the substances in any vitamins or supplements you take during pregnancy by reading the labels and making sure the products have been verified by an independent organisation such as NSF International or U.S. Pharmacopoeia (USP).