Prenatal Vitamins and Why They Are Important!

Author: Gerald Fitz

When you are going to have a baby, suddenly health becomes more important than ever. You worry about complications and whether the baby is getting everything he or she needs. You also have to worry about your personal health so your body is prepared for the physical demands of pregnancy.

Multivitamins are beneficial to health at all points in your life, but there are times when they are just downright essential and pregnancy is one of them. Pregnant women need up to 50 percent more vitamins each day than the average adult. Calcium, iron, and folic acid are a few of the most important vitamins during pregnancy.

We’ve all heard that taking calcium gives us strong bones. Calcium is actually stored in the bones themselves to strengthen them. Your baby needs to get calcium from you in order to develop his or her own bones and jumpstart some of the muscles. If you are not taking enough calcium during pregnancy, your body will pull out the needed amounts from your bones. This weakens your bones and over time can cause you to develop osteoporosis. You actually need the same amount of calcium when you are pregnant as when you are not. It is just more vital that you have enough when you are pregnant and when breastfeeding.

Another risk during pregnancy is becoming anemic. This occurs when you have a decreased amount of red blood cells circulating in your blood stream. Since red blood cells carry oxygen throughout the body, anemia essentially slows the flow of oxygen in your body or cuts some off completely. In mild cases it can cause you extra fatigue and weakness, but in more severe cases you can cause damage to your heart. You are much more likely to become anemic during pregnancy which is why iron is essential and available to you in prenatal vitamins. Unlike calcium, your iron needs go up significantly during pregnancy. You need the extra iron to create the baby, placenta, and extra blood. Iron is especially needed in the later stages of pregnancy and if your body does not have the capacity to keep up with the iron needs, you become anemic. Sometimes in pregnancy, women get strange cravings for things like dirt, ice, paper, or wax. This is called pica, and is often one symptom of an iron deficiency.

Folic acid is also essential to the fetus because lack of it is directly linked to birth defects in the brain and spine such as spina bifida, when the parts of the spine do not form fully. Folic acid is most needed the first month of pregnancy before many women realize they are pregnant, so it is important to always be on top of folic intake. It is recommended that women take a supplement for folic acid because it is difficult to get the needed amounts from daily diet.

Choosing a good multivitamin during pregnancy is key. There is a risk in overdoing vitamin intake, so stick to one multivitamin a day, and it’s always a good idea to talk to your doctor to get a sense of what your individual needs are. There are great prenatal vitamins out there to help keep you and your baby safe and some are even starting to taste good! Chocolate flavored prenatal vitamins are now available to help manage those chocolate cravings and to provide essential vitamins, including iron and calcium for pregnancy.