Benefits of Prenatal Vitamins
Posted by Advocate Aaron · Leave a Comment
Prenatal vitamins work better when taken along with a healthy diet. They are only meant to be a supplement, and not a substitute for a proper diet. Never rely on prenatal vitamins for all your nutritional needs. Talk to your doctor about what foods you should be eating.
Be sure to keep an eye on your calcium. An expectant mother generally requires 1,200mg – 1,500mg of calcium on a daily basis. Most prenatal vitamins do not contain this amount, so you may need a calcium supplement in addition. (Many will only contain 250-500mg.) Calcium is certainly important in the development of your new baby.
No two prenatal vitamins are the same; and many may not provide any benefits at all. Recent studies show that a pregnant woman’s body does not necessarily absorb all of the nutrients provided by the vitamins, especially folate. Folate is extremely important in the baby’s prenatal development. The vitamin helps prevent birth defects like spina-bifida.
While prescribed vitamins are ideal, most of the same vitamins are available over the counter in stores. You may be able to save substantial money with a store bought brand. The most important things to consider are the ingredients in the vitamins, and whether they absorb quickly or not.
There is an easy test you can use to determine if the vitamins will be absorbed into your system. Put one of the prenatal vitamins into a cup of water. Wait ten minutes. If the vitamin is dissolved, or is very soft, it will be absorbed into your system. If the vitamin remains hard, it will probably pass through your system without depositing many of the nutrients it carries. This is important, so be sure to do this with any new vitamin. (I am NOT a doctor or rocket scientist, this is just plain LOGIC)
Finding the right prenatal vitamin may take a little trial and error, but the benefits are great. Just continue to keep in mind that you still need to maintain a healthy diet. The benefits of prenatal vitamins are enormous and highly recommended, but good nutrition is still better than any supplement. Remember, no vitamin is going to be exactly the same, but here is what most sources that I have found suggest (these will vary slightly):
4,000 and 5,000 IU (international units) of vitamin A
800 and 1,000 mcg (1 mg) of folic acid
400 IU of vitamin D
200 to 300 mg of calcium
70 mg of vitamin C
1.5 mg of thiamine
1.6 mg of riboflavin
2.6 mg of pyridoxine
17 mg of niacin amide
2.2 mcg of vitamin B-12
10 mg of vitamin E
15 mg of zinc
30 mg of iron
Fighting for the uninsured and underinsured pregnant mom and their unborn babies,
Advocate Aaron
