This blog post will walk you through: what can prenatal vitamins help with.
What Are Prenatal Vitamins?
Prenatal vitamins are specifically geared toward women thinking about becoming pregnant or who are pregnant. The concept behind prenatal vitamins is that some of a women’s nutritional and vitamin needs increase with pregnancy. A baby especially needs certain nutrients to develop.
It’s important to remember that prenatal vitamins are a supplement to a healthy diet for expectant moms. According to the Mayo Clinic, pregnant and adult women need 1,000 milligrams (mg) of calcium daily. Prenatal vitamins typically have between 200 and 300 mg of calcium.
Calcium is important for all women because it keeps their bones strong. Taking in enough folic acid is linked with reducing neural tube defects like spina bifida. Because a woman increases her blood volume during pregnancy, iron is a must-have.
Prenatal vitamins often contain other vitamins and minerals.
When Should I Take Prenatal Vitamins?
Always talk with your doctor before starting to take prenatal vitamins. While you can buy prenatal vitamins over the counter, doctors can prescribe them too.
Women who are carrying multiples, pregnant teenagers, and pregnant women with a history of substance abuse have a higher risk of vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Prenatal vitamins are particularly important for these women. Prenatal vitamins can serve as a further supplement to lactating women who need plenty of nutrients to make breast milk.
Can I Take Prenatal Vitamins If I Don’T Want To Get Pregnant?
Prenatal vitamins are specific to the needs of pregnant and breastfeeding women. Taking too much folic acid each day can have the adverse side effect of masking a vitamin B-12 deficiency. Excess iron can be a problem, too.
Excess amounts of nutrients like vitamin A taken from synthetic vitamins could be toxic to a person’s liver. Again, it’s better if you get these nutrients through your diet instead of a pill. For these reasons, most women should skip prenatal vitamins unless their doctors tell them otherwise.
Some claim that taking prenatal vitamins makes hair grow thicker or faster, and that nails could grow faster or stronger too. But according to the Mayo Clinic, these claims haven’t been proven. Taking prenatal vitamins for better hair or nails likely won’t bring the desired results.
Why Prenatal Vitamins Are Important
For example, prenatal vitamins have more iron, calcium, and folic acid than regular multivitamins. Folic acid is proven to be a crucial factor in preventing neural tube birth defects, which is why it is recommended that all women of child bearing age take a folic acid supplement, and also why pregnant women need to take more than the general population.
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.
Eating a healthy diet is always a wise idea — especially during pregnancy.