You might be a person who eats a balanced diet and lives a healthy lifestyle. This does not mean you and your baby are receiving enough nutrition of all Vitamins and essential fats and acids. Urban malnutrition is a rising problem where the diet looks balanced but more often than not. Prenatal vitamins are recommended in such cases to ensure you have an adequate supply of all nutrients required at the time of pregnancy. Women who are planning to get pregnant are also suggested to take precautions for the first trimester.
Essential Elements
Iron
These two nutrients are very rarely consumed by women in adequate quantities. Though iron-rich foods like leafy vegetables, dates, jaggery, etc are widely available; their role in daily diet is quite low. Hence prenatal vitamins with iron are recommended for healthy brain and heart development in kids. Also for the necessary production of hemoglobin iron is unavoidable. To tackle situations like anemia, low blood count iron plays a key role.
Folic Acid
Artificial folic acid tends to be absorbed better than ones from natural sources. Adequacy of folic acid prevents issues like cleft lip, cleft palate neural tube defects, and certain heart conditions. For proper mapping and development of DNA, folic acid which is a synthetic form of vitamin B9 is required. Pregnant women are recommended to take at least 400 mcg of folic acid every day. Check the label of the tablet you are consuming to see if it goes beyond 1000mcg, in that case, consult your practitioner before doing so.
Calcium
Calcium is a relatively larger element and calcium tablets are huge. Calcium is essential for bone development and body functions. Calcium-rich sources like dairy products are widely available, but the pregnancy period still calls for extra calcium supply. If not moderately consumed, calcium tablets can cause kidney stones. Consult your medical practitioner for the correct dosage.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D, a fat-soluble vitamin, is necessary to maintain adequate levels of calcium and phosphorus. So if you are on a calcium-rich diet but still have a deficiency, it is time to check for Vitamin D. Few sources of Vitamin D from nature are Salmon, cereals, mackerel, sardine, and egg yolk. Vitamin D-fortified foods are widely available. Lack of Vitamin D can cause fractures, abnormal bone growth, and rickets in infants. Pregnant and breastfeeding women are recommended to take 1500 to 2000 UI of Vitamin D every day. Most prenatal vitamins have 400 IU of Vitamin D in them. Vitamin D protects from skin darkening during pregnancy time from UV rays.
Usage
There is no definite brand of prenatal vitamins. Try to find that include micronutrients like zinc, copper, magnesium, and Vitamin C. Prenatal vitamins are an addition to a good diet, not a substitute. Also in most cases, people are skeptical about supplements. A medical practitioner’s advice is mandatory before usage. Some of the prenatal vitamin supplements tend to create constipation. To avoid this, have adequate exercise after consultation and ask for stool smoother.