This article aims to clear any doubts and questions you may have about this subject and we will do our best to do so.
What Are Prenatal Vitamins?
Prenatal vitamins are supplements made for pregnant women to give their bodies the vitamins and minerals needed for a healthy pregnancy. Your doctor may suggest that you take them when you begin to plan for pregnancy, as well as while you’re pregnant. It’s also a good idea to take a prenatal vitamin to help cover any nutritional gaps in your diet.
What To Look For In Prenatal Vitamins
Prenatal vitamins help ensure that you get the nutrients you need for a healthy pregnancy.
1. Folate
Of all the nutrients out there, folate is the most important to get while pregnant because it’s essential for fetal brain development. It’s well known that folate is important in the very beginning of pregnancy, as that’s when neural development takes place, but recent research suggests that getting enough at the time of conception—before you even know you’re pregnant—could be more critical.
2. Vitamin D
Almost everyone needs more of the sunshine vitamin. Vitamin D is essential for regulating levels of calcium and other important minerals, making it a key player in skeletal development. Severely low maternal vitamin D levels have been associated with preterm birth in multiple studies, though research on the topic has shown mixed results.
“So taking it during pregnancy is not a bad idea.”. Calcium
If you’re not eating enough calcium during pregnancy, your body may begin to pull calcium from your bones to give to the growing baby—putting you at risk for osteoporosis. It’s actually a lot easier to reach that than you might think, and supplementing too much may come with some cardiovascular risks.
They’ve also been connected to healthy fetal development.