According to ACOG (The American Congress of Gynecologists and Obstetricians), women who are pregnant should adhere to a diet that contains a plethora of foods including carbohydrates, minerals, proteins, fats, and vitamins. From all of these, they must grab the ideal amounts of vitamins and nutrients to maintain their health and the health of their baby during pregnancy.
Although a balanced diet can help a pregnant woman include a great deal of nutrients in her system, vitamin supplementation might also be required. Note that supplements should always be taken under the strict supervision of a health care provider, so prior to venturing to the nearest pharmacy get to know what types of vitamins and minerals your body may need.
Pregnant women must never substitute food only with supplements because they risk harming the baby. Not all soon-to-be mothers need supplementation, and in most cases taking pills is required because of a vitamin deficiency.
As a member of the B vitamin family, folic acid can be found naturally in food under the shape of “folates”. Green leafy vegetables, orange juice, and beans contain folates that should be included in the diet of the expecting woman. Synthetic forms are additionally advised, and these can be taken from enriched grain products and breakfast cereals. Thus far, researchers haven’t managed to demonstrate why folic acid can prevent birth defects, yet what they do know is that deficiencies lead to increased risks of NTDs, better known as spina bifida, which is the main cause of infancy paralysis.
Folic acid doesn’t just combat NTDs; it might also keep the baby safe from developing a cleft lip, cleft palate or a heart defect. Pregnant women need folic acid in order to support the rapid growth of the fetus and the placenta. The nutrient additionally helps with the production of DNA of the baby. Studies have shown that folic acid deficiencies could lead to low birth weight or pre-mature birth.
Pregnant or not, the body needs iron for various, extremely important reasons. Iron is responsible for producing hemoglobin, a protein in the red blood cells whose purpose is to deliver oxygen to the other cells. Furthermore, the chemical is a vital component of myoglobin (which is a protein that supplies oxygen to the muscles), collagen (a protein in cartilage, bone, and additional connective tissues), and various enzymes.
During pregnancy the amount of blood the body needs increases until it exceeds 50% than usual. This means you need more iron in order to produce more hemoglobin. In the 2nd and 3rd trimester, iron supplementation is required because it helps the baby and the placenta develops properly. A lot of women don’t even know they need iron and a deficiency usually leads to anemia, low birth weight, preterm delivery, and infant immortality.
During pregnancy, the baby needs calcium in order to build strong teeth and bones, grow a healthy heart, muscles, and nerves, as well as develop a regular heart beat. If you’re not including sufficient amounts of calcium into your diet during pregnancy, you risk putting your health in danger because the baby will take calcium from your own bones.
Prenatal vitamins have between 150 and 200 mg of calcium in their composition, which is not enough because your body will need around 1,300ml. As an alternative, you could include a separate supplement based on calcium, but don’t overdo it. Increased amounts might do more harm than good and trigger constipation, kidney stones, and hinder the ability of your body to absorb iron from ordinary foods.
Vitamin D has the ability to regulate the amount of phosphate and calcium contained in the body, and it can easily be taken as a supplement or from foods like oily fish (sardines, salmon, etc), meat and eggs. However, the best source is sun exposure and the amount is different from individual to individual. Do not exaggerate and under no circumstances confuse sun exposure with tanning because they’re not the same thing.
Although it is possible for pregnant women to grab all the nutrients they need from food, vitamin deficiencies are extremely common when expecting a baby. Hence, the best alternative would be to turn to supplementation under the strict supervision of your physician. Note that not all vitamins are good for pregnant women. Vitamin A for example, should be avoided at all costs because it might harm the baby.