Prenatal Nutrition

How Important are Prenatal Vitamins?

Unless you are are regularly eating a wide variety of foods, including fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes, you are not getting the sufficient amount of prenatal vitamin you are and growing baby need to develop properly. Realistically, most women, especially those experiencing the “joy” of morning sickness will nee to supplement with a prenatal vitamin. You should really consider supplementing as soon as you decide to conceive. We will discuss that a little bit later.

Prenatal vitamins are designed to help expecting mothers overcome the nutritional deficiencies in their diet. Prenatal vitamins contain the majority of the vitamins and mineral that are essential for both mother and baby. There are a lot of didfferent types of prenatal vitamins but the majority of all prenatal vitamins contain 3 essential vitmains and minerals: Folic acid, Iron and Calcium.

Benefits of Folic Acid

The only way to ensure you are getting the correct amount of folic acid each day it by taking one of our recommended prenatal vitamins. Doctors and prenatal vitamin experts agree you should start taking 400 micrograms of folic each day at least a month before you try to conceive and at least 600 micrograms per day once you confirm your pregnancy. Many women do not fully understand the importance of regular folic acid intake before pregnancy. repeated studies show that women who take 400 micrograms of folic acid daily prior to conception will reduce the risk of their baby being born with a serious neural tube defect, like spina bifida, encephalocele, and anecephaly. Both of these defects occur during the first 28 days of pregnancy- well before a woman discovers she is even pregnant. This is why it is so important for all women of childbearing age get enough folic acid in their diet.