If you are planning a pregnancy or pregnant, you must be careful about taking minerals and vitamins or the required supplements. Prenatal vitamins supplements are specifically made for pregnant women that provide their bodies with the essential minerals and vitamins required for a healthy pregnancy. Your doctor may recommend you take them when you start planning a pregnancy or when you are pregnant. Taking a healthy diet is a good thing during pregnancy, but you may be deficient in important nutrients; taking a prenatal vitamin is great to cover any nutritional deficiencies in your diet.

Parental Vitamins

Prenatal vitamins are multivitamins to consume during pregnancy. They are specifically made for pregnant women or those trying to conceive. As compared to a regular multivitamin, they contain more nutrients. Your doctor may prescribe you prenatal vitamins, or you can purchase them without a prescription. During pregnancy, take a parental vitamin daily. If you are planning to conceive, start taking prenatal vitamins. To stay healthy and strong, your body uses vitamins and other nutrients. The baby gets all the essential nutrients during pregnancy, so you need more nutrients than before.

Important Nutrients During Pregnancy

During pregnancy, all nutrients are essential, but these nutrients are very important in the development and growth of your baby: calcium, folic acid, vitamin D, iron, DHA, iodine.

• Calcium

Calcium helps develop the heart, teeth, bones, muscles, and nerves of your baby. During pregnancy, you need to consume calcium 1,000 mg daily. You can get this by eating foods high in calcium or by taking prenatal vitamins. If you do not get the required calcium you need during pregnancy, your body takes it from your bones to give your baby. It can lead to osteoporosis later in life. Osteoporosis makes your bones thin, and they can break easily.

• Folic Acid

Folic acid is needed for the healthy development and growth of cells in your body. Before and during pregnancy, taking folic acid helps to protect from birth defects in the spinal cord and brain, known as neural tube defects. Take 4,000 mcg of folic acid before 3 months of pregnancy and in the first 12 weeks.

• Vitamin D

Vitamin D helps in calcium absorption in your body. It helps the muscles, nerves, and immune system to function properly. Vitamin D helps develop the bone and teeth of your baby. During pregnancy, you need vitamin D 600 IU daily.

• Iron

Iron is a mineral the body uses in hemoglobin production. Hemoglobin is a protein; from your lungs it carries oxygen throughout the body. During pregnancy, you need twice iron as before pregnancy. Your body needs iron for blood production to carry oxygen to the baby, and the baby needs it to make his blood. During pregnancy, you must consume 27 mg of iron daily. 

• DHA

Docosahexaenoic acid is a type of fat that helps in growth and development. You need DHA to help your baby’s eye and brain development during pregnancy. All prenatal vitamins don’t have DHA; you may ask your doctor if you need to take a DHA supplement. It is recommended to eat 8 to 12 ounces of seafood each week low in mercury during pregnancy.

 

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