For the most part, a healthy diet and lifestyle are your best bet to get everything your body needs. However, during pregnancy, you may need a little boost, as you might fall short of a few essential minerals and nutrients. After all, growing a human is hard work! So, if you’re pregnant or want to conceive, prenatal vitamins can help fill in the gaps to support a healthy pregnancy.
What Are Prenatal Vitamins?
Prenatal vitamins are dietary supplements designed to support the increased nutritional needs of a developing pregnancy. The combination of vitamins and minerals ensures your body gets all the nutrients it needs to support a healthy pregnancy. Even women who eat a balanced diet can experience nutrient deficiencies because of the increased nutritional needs of the baby.
When Is The Best Time to Take Prenatal Vitamins?
Prenatal vitamins should ideally be taken one month before conception and continued throughout pregnancy and breastfeeding. Although many doctors recommend that women hoping to conceive start preemptively taking prenatal vitamins.
What’s In My Prenatal Vitamin?
When you get pregnant, ask your doctor or clinic which prenatal vitamin is best for you. If you’ve been taking one already, bring the bottle to your next appointment, and he or she can check the ingredients for you. Depending on the brand, the majority of prenatal vitamins contain these three important minerals:
- Folic acid: Research shows that folic acid helps your baby’s brain and spinal cord develop properly. Folic acid can also help reduce the risk of serious congenital disabilities such as spina bifida and anencephaly.
- Calcium: As your baby grows, your baby takes calcium from both your bones and teeth. If you lack sufficient calcium, you could lose bone density as your pregnancy progresses. Supplementing with calcium during pregnancy helps support your bone and nervous system health while also helping prevent the development of osteoporosis later in life.
- Iron: Iron helps your blood deliver oxygen to your entire body, including your growing baby. It may also prevent your baby from being born prematurely or underweight. Women are also susceptible to becoming anemic during pregnancy, and a supplement containing iron will help prevent this.
- Vitamin D: The most significant compounds for human development are D2 and D3. Vitamin D helps support health bone development for your baby, and supports strong immune function, healthy cell division in pregnant women.
- Iodine: Iodine is an essential micronutrient for thyroid hormone production. Adequate iodine intake is essential for fetal neurodevelopment.
How Will Prenatal Vitamins Make Me Feel?
Many people can take prenatal vitamins without a hitch. However, some moms-to-be might struggle with a few side effects, especially if they are experiencing severe bouts of nausea. If this is the case, here are a few tips to help you out:
- If you are struggling with nausea, try taking vitamins after you’ve eaten breakfast or, better yet, after dinner and before you go to bed.
- If you feel more nauseous after taking your vitamin, chat to your doctor about switching to another brand. Many people react badly to taking iron tablets and may need a supplement without iron or a slow-release iron capsule, tonic, or sachet.
- If you struggle to swallow the multivitamin (these can be rather big tablets), ask about a chewable vitamin, which may be easier to stomach.
- The iron in prenatal vitamins can make you constipated. If this affects you, try to eat more fiber-rich foods and up your water intake, which will keep you more regular.
Free Unplanned Pregnancy Support at Aspire Women’s Clinic
If you’re experiencing an unplanned pregnancy, and don’t know where to go, our certified medical staff at Aspire Women’s Clinic is here to support you with free pregnancy tests and ultrasounds. You will also have the option to ask our staff any questions about your pregnancy and get connected with resources to support you. Contact us today!
