Pregnancy affects different women in different ways. But none will tell you that it’s easy, especially as you get closer to giving birth. You also have to think about the unborn child and make sure that it’s healthy. While hormonal changes will have a big influence on how you feel, your daily habits, especially when it comes to nutrition, will also affect your mood in many ways. Let’s take a look at a few essential vitamins for pregnant women.
What Vitamins Do Pregnant Women Need?
First of all, pregnant women should make sure that they have a diet high in vitamins and nutrients in the first place. Malnutrition is very dangerous for you and the baby, so you have to make sure that you have your basic nutritional needs met.
Vitamin A is essential for pregnant women and foetal development. It is important for proper bone growth and improves eyesight. It is recommended that women take 770 micrograms per day. Vitamin C is also important for the development of bones, teeth, and gums as well. Vitamin D is essential for calcium absorption and will also benefit your child’s bones and teeth.
Vitamin B6 and B12 are also extremely important for pregnant women. Vitamin B6 helps in the formation of red blood cells, which will help deliver nutrients not only to the baby but through your whole body. Vitamin B12 is responsible for maintaining the nervous system and will help keep your energy levels high.
Nutrients
In addition to vitamins, you also need a variety of nutrients. Folic acid is one of the first you’ll hear about. Folic acid can help prevent the occurrence of birth defects that could affect the child’s spinal cord and brain.
These are referred to as neural tube defects and form early in the pregnancy. This is why this is a good supplement to take regularly even if you’re not pregnant. It is suggested that pregnant women take around 400 micrograms of folic acid every day for the first 12 weeks, starting before conception.
Calcium, iodine, and iron are all very important things to have in your diet as well. Calcium will be leached from your body to fill the baby’s needs, so you must add some to your diet so that you don’t lose your bone density.
Iodine helps regulate thyroid function, which is essential during pregnancy. This will reduce the chances of miscarriage, stunted growth, and severe issues like deafness or mental disability. Iron, on the other, helps in the production of red blood cells.
A Word on Prenatal Multivitamins
Some people will go for prenatal multivitamins for convenience. You can buy a range of vitamin and mineral supplements for pregnancy from an online chemist. Where possible, take vitamins and minerals separately to allow you to eat fat-soluble vitamins with meals and water-soluble with water or the drink of your choice.
These are some of the vitamins and nutrients all pregnant women should have in their diet. These will increase the chances that your child grows up healthy and will make the experience more bearable for you.