prenatal-vitamins-and-why-they-are-important
Prenatal Vitamins and Why They Are
Important!
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.
For more info on women's multivitamins,
visit MyTopForm.com
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Prenatal Vitamins and Why They Are Important!
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