Are Prenatal Vitamins Important for your Baby?

By Andrew V.V.

One of the best things pregnant women can do is eat a healthy, well-balanced diet every day. The discouraging news, however, is that even when women make sure that they eat the most nutritious foods each day, it is still very likely that they are not getting all of the nutrients they need for their developing baby, and for themselves.

The Most Important Nutrients

The majority of prenatal vitamins that are sold contain much higher amounts of iron, calcium, and folic acid than standard multivitamins, and these nutrients are absolutely essential to the healthy growth and development of your baby.

1. Iron – pregnant women need increased amounts of iron to help prevent the development of anemia, and to help muscle and blood cells to grow at a healthy rate.
2. Calcium – this nutrient is necessary not only for the development of strong bones and teeth, it is also essential for helping your muscular, nervous, and circulatory systems operate efficiently.
3. Folic acid – the reason this nutrient is so important is because it aids in the prevention of neural tube defects. These types of defects are the result of abnormalities in the spinal cord and brain.
4. Prenatal vitamins (overall) – these are always recommended by obstetricians simply because they are so beneficial to maintaining the good health of pregnant women and their babies. Taking prenatal vitamins can help to prevent the risk of your baby having a low birth weight, too, so expectant mothers should carefully follow the guidelines for taking them to ensure maximum effectiveness.

Other Important Guidelines

Omega-3 fatty acids play an integral role in the healthy development of your baby’s brain. If you do not receive enough Omega-3’s through your diet, your doctor will probably recommend that you take a supplement. You might also need to take a vitamin D supplement, particularly during your third trimester, which is when the demand for calcium will increase significantly.

Prenatal vitamins are generally available over the counter, but in some cases your doctor may prescribe them to you. This will mostly depend on the particular needs of you and your baby. While many women wonder when they should start taking prenatal vitamins, the truth is that you should actually start taking them about three months before conception. For most women, however, this is a fairly impossible task. You should be just fine if you begin taking them as soon as you find out that you are pregnant.

Though they are just vitamins and do not typically cause adverse reactions in most women, prenatal vitamins can cause some degree of side effects in some people. For the most part, a bit of nausea may be experienced, which can usually be resolved by taking your vitamins at night or with a small snack. Other women complain about experiencing constipation because of the high iron content of prenatal vitamins. If this happens to you, try to increase your fiber intake and drink plenty of water.