| The Basics of Prenatal Vitamins |
| Written by Samuel Blue | |
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You're finally pregnant! Congratulations! Before you celebrate too much, you first have an obligation to the baby growing inside of you . You need to take prenatal vitamins as soon as possible. These are very important pills that keep you and your baby as healthy as can be. They are taken during the pregnancy to make sure that the birth is pleasant and that nothing goes wrong. But first, you need to learn more about them. When you are pregnant, there are certain vital nutrients that become depleted from your body. These nutrients are very important to the health of you and your unborn baby. Because of this, you need to take prenatal vitamins. They are similar to multivitamins but are tailored for pregnancy. While multivitamins are great in general, they shouldn't be taken at this time. They don't have enough of the important vitamins and minerals that will keep the pregnancy healthy. There are three very important nutrients that you must make sure you get during your pregnancy . While most prenatal vitamins will have these nutrients, not all of them will have enough of them. These nutrients are iron, folic acid, and calcium. Iron is important because it keeps oxygen circulating through the blood, which helps both you and the baby. Don't accept any pills that have less than 30 milligrams of iron. Folic acid is also a very important nutrient. You can lower the risk of your child being born with birth defects by taking enough of this vitamin. Be sure that there is at least 800 micrograms of folic acid in each pill, although 1000 micrograms is better. During pregnancy, some of your bone mass is transferred to your baby. This is because they are growing into a tiny person and need that help from you. While this is great for the baby, it does lessen your bone mass. To reverse that negative effect, take a prenatal vitamin that has at least 200 milligrams of calcium, although more is always better. When choosing a prenatal supplement, you will also need to make a decision between regular pills and natural, organic prenatal vitamins. The biggest difference between the two has to do with absorption. Some man-made vitamins, such as vitamin E, do not absorb through the womb as well. Taking organic prenatal vitamins can help with this problem. Although you can just go to the drug store and pick out your own vitamins, this is ill-advised. Instead, it is best to see your doctor first. They can tell you which prenatal vitamins are best for you. They may test your blood to check you for anemia. This helps because if you do have this health problem, you will need more iron than most vitamins will provide. They will also have a list of prenatal supplements that they recommend and they will tell you what to avoid. OB/GYN doctors have a lot of experience with this sort of thing, and they will be able to help you make the right decision. It's easy to just say, 'oh, I don't need this.' After all, you are in charge of your own body. It's up to you what you do to it. When you're pregnant though, you aren't just worrying about yourself, but your baby as well. While you may not care as much about your own health, you should care a lot about your child's. By taking prenatal vitamins every day, you are showing your child how much you care. Doing this, you will lessen the chance of any birth defects, and you will ensure that you and your baby stay healthy through the birth. |
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