vitamins
Pregnancy
vitamins
even if you have a healthy diet during pregnancy, you will sometimes need to take vitamin supplements. MM looks at what you need and what you don't...
your pregnancy vitamin supplements can ensure that you aren't falling short on some key nutrients. Tis can be particularly important if you're suffering badly from morning sickness, since regular vomiting will oſten deplete your system of the necessary vitamins.
W Why are pregnancy vitamins
necessary? Well, in addition to the fact that certain pregnancy vitamins - folic acid in particular - can help to reduce the risk of birth defects, research has shown that women who take a daily multivitamin before conception and/or during the first few weeks of pregnancy, experience fewer episodes of nausea and vomiting - particularly during the first trimester.
26MODERNMUM Spring 2016
hile a healthy diet is obviously the best way to ensure an adequate vitamin intake, during
When should you start to take
them? Ideally, you should begin to take vitamin supplements before your baby is even conceived, but you should definitely begin to take them as soon as you know that you are pregnant. It's always a good idea to discuss which vitamins you should be taking with your GP or midwife.
Which vitamins do you ideally need to take and why?
Folic acid
Healthcare professionals always recommend that you begin to take 400mcg of folic acid each day prior to conception. Tis is because folic acid helps to prevent neural tube defects, such as spina bifida, which are serious abnormalities of the brain and spinal cord and, since your baby's neural tube
forms in the first month of pregnancy, it's obviously ideal if you've been building up folic acid in your system prior to this time. You can increase the amount of folic acid
in your diet by eating folate-rich foods such as green leafy vegetables and brown rice, but it's difficult to get the amount of folate recommended for pregnancy from food alone, which is why it is important to take a folic acid supplement.
Iron
Iron is the building block for your baby's cells and helps to support your baby's growth and development. If you're short of iron, you'll probably feel very tired and you could end up suffering from anaemia, which occurs when blood lacks adequate healthy red cells. You can boost your iron levels by
increasing the amount of lean meat, green leafy vegetables, dried fruit and
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