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Thank you! Your e-mail was sent. Save to my dashboard Sign in or Sign up to save this page. Saving Just a moment, please. You've saved this page It's been added to your dashboard. In This Topic. What are prenatal vitamins? Which nutrients are most important during pregnancy? Before pregnancy take a vitamin supplement with mcg of folic acid every day. During pregnancy, take a prenatal vitamin each day that has mcg of folic acid in it.
Check the product label to see how much folic acid is in it. You or your partner has an NTD. Your partner has a child with an NTD. What is iron? Good sources of iron include: Lean meat, poultry and seafood Cereal, bread and pasta that has iron added to it check the package label Leafy green vegetables Beans, nuts, raisins and dried fruit Foods containing vitamin C can increase the amount of iron your body absorbs.
This means you have too little iron in your blood. This means you feel really tired or exhausted. Premature birth. This means your baby is born too soon, before 37 weeks of pregnancy. Low birthweight. This means your baby is born weighing less than 5 pounds, 8 ounces. What is calcium? What is vitamin D? Good sources of DHA include: Herring, salmon, trout, anchovies, halibut, catfish, shrimp and tilapia Orange juice, milk and eggs that have DHA added to them check the package label What is iodine?
Good sources of iodine include: Fish Milk, cheese and yogurt Enriched or fortified cereal and bread check the package label Iodized salt salt with iodine added to it; check the package label Last reviewed September, Prepare for a healthy pregnancy and baby this year.
Taking prenatal vitamins during the months leading up to, and during! These supplements contain vital nutrients for your baby's healthy growth that you may not get enough of from food.
These include folic acid, iron, calcium, and omega-3 fatty acids. Ask your provider to recommend a good prenatal vitamin for you. Prenatal vitamins are supplements specially formulated to help give your baby the nutrients that are essential for healthy development.
During pregnancy, your required daily intake of certain vitamins and minerals increases - and it's not easy to get those amounts through diet alone. Most women can benefit from taking a prenatal vitamin and mineral supplement preferably before trying to conceive. Think of it as an insurance policy to make sure you're getting the right amount of certain crucial nutrients during pregnancy.
It's hard to get all the nutrients you and your baby need, even if you eat a wide variety of food, including meat, dairy products, fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes. Taking a prenatal vitamin is even more important for women with dietary restrictions, health issues, or pregnancy complications.
This includes women who:. Two crucial nutrients — folic acid and iron — are almost always included in prenatal vitamins because most pregnant women don't get enough of them from food alone. Getting enough of this B vitamin in the month before you conceive and very early in your pregnancy can reduce your baby's risk of neural tube defects, such as spina bifida and anencephaly, by up to 70 percent.
Folic acid may also reduce the risk of other defects, such as cleft lip, cleft palate, and certain heart defects. Taking folic acid may even lower your risk of preeclampsia.
Your body absorbs the synthetic version of folic acid better than the natural one found in food, so even if you eat a balanced diet, a supplement is strongly recommended. For more details, see our complete article on folic acid in your pregnancy diet. Most moms-to-be don't get enough of this mineral from their diet to meet their body's increased need during pregnancy, and this can lead to iron-deficiency anemia. Preventing iron-deficiency anemia can cut your risk of preterm delivery , low birth weight, and infant mortality.
For more details, see our complete article on iron in your pregnancy diet. Your provider can recommend a good prenatal vitamin for you, and may suggest additional supplements to take as well, depending on your diet and other health factors. Common nutrients that pregnant women may need to take in supplement form include:. Your prenatal vitamin may contain calcium, but there's a chance it won't be enough.
You need calcium to help your baby grow strong bones and teeth as well as healthy nerves and muscles including the heart. Most prenatal vitamins contain between and milligrams mg of calcium, but some don't contain any. That's because calcium is a particularly bulky mineral, and the pills are already big enough! To find out how much calcium you need and how to get it, see our complete article on calcium in your pregnancy diet. Prenatal vitamins typically don't contain any essential fatty acids, such as the omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA, which are important for the development of your baby's brain, nerve, and eye tissue.
Fish is a major source of DHA and EPA, but you have to be careful about not eating too much fish that's high in mercury while you're pregnant. Because omega-3s are so important for your baby, it's a good idea to talk with your healthcare practitioner about whether you need a supplement. Your body needs this fat-soluble vitamin to help build your baby's bones and teeth. Vitamin D plays an important role in maintaining levels of calcium and phosphorus.
If you're lacking vitamin D during pregnancy, your baby may be short on the vitamin at birth. This can put your child at risk for rickets which can lead to fractures and deformity , abnormal bone growth, and delayed physical development.
A deficiency of vitamin D has also been linked to a greater risk of developing pregnancy complications such as preeclampsia and gestational diabetes , but more research is needed to confirm these links.
To find out how much vitamin D you need and how to get it, see our complete article on vitamin D in your pregnancy diet. See the below table for recommended amounts. Fortified cereal, enriched bread and pasta, peanuts, dark green leafy vegetables, orange juice, beans. Also, take a daily prenatal vitamin with micrograms of folic acid. Excess weight during pregnancy is associated with several pregnancy and childbirth complications , including:. High blood pressure. Gestational diabetes. Cesarean birth.
Birth defects , especially neural tube defects NTDs. Folic acid, also known as folate, is a B vitamin that is important for pregnant women. When you are pregnant you need micrograms of folic acid each day. Women who have had a child with an NTD should take 4 milligrams mg of folic acid each day as a separate supplement at least 3 months before pregnancy and for the first 3 months of pregnancy.
You and your ob-gyn or other obstetric care provider can discuss whether you need to supplement with more than micrograms daily. Iron is used by your body to make the extra blood that you and your fetus need during pregnancy.
Women who are not pregnant need 18 mg of iron per day. Pregnant women need more, 27 mg per day. This increased amount is found in most prenatal vitamins. In addition to taking a prenatal vitamin with iron, you should eat iron-rich foods such as beans, lentils, enriched breakfast cereals, beef, turkey, liver, and shrimp.
You also should eat foods that help your body absorb iron, including orange juice, grapefruit, strawberries, broccoli, and peppers. Women who are age 18 or younger need 1, mg of calcium per day. Women who are 19 or older need 1, mg per day. Milk and other dairy products, such as cheese and yogurt, are the best sources of calcium. If you have trouble digesting milk products, you can get calcium from other sources, such as broccoli, fortified foods cereals, breads, and juices , almonds and sesame seeds, sardines or anchovies with the bones, and dark green leafy vegetables.
You also can get calcium from calcium supplements. Vitamin D also is essential for healthy skin and eyesight. All women, pregnant or not, need international units of vitamin D a day. Good sources of vitamin D include fortified milk and breakfast cereal, fatty fish salmon and mackerel , fish liver oils, and egg yolks.
Many people do not get enough vitamin D. If your ob-gyn or other obstetric care provider thinks you may have low levels of vitamin D, a test can be done to check the level in your blood. If it is below normal, you may need to take a vitamin D supplement. It also may help prevent some common birth defects. Experts recommend that pregnant women get mg of choline each day.
Choline can be found in chicken, beef, eggs, milk, soy products, and peanuts. Omega-3 fatty acids are a type of fat found naturally in many kinds of fish.
Omega-3s may be important for brain development before and after birth. Women should eat at least two servings of fish or shellfish per week before getting pregnant, while pregnant, and while breastfeeding. A serving of fish is 8 to 12 ounces oz.
Some types of fish have higher levels of mercury than others. Mercury is a metal that has been linked to birth defects. Do not eat bigeye tuna, king mackerel, marlin, orange roughy, shark, swordfish, or tilefish. Limit white albacore tuna to only 6 oz a week. You also should check advisories about fish caught in local waters. Flaxseed ground or as oil is a good source of omega-3s. Other sources of omega-3s include broccoli, cantaloupe, kidney beans, spinach, cauliflower, and walnuts.
These vitamins:. Help build the placenta. Your prenatal vitamin should have the right amount of B vitamins that you need each day. Eating foods high in B vitamins is a good idea too, including liver, pork, chicken, bananas, beans, and whole-grain cereals and breads. Vitamin C is important for a healthy immune system. It also helps build strong bones and muscles. During pregnancy, you should get at least 85 mg of vitamin C each day if you are older than 19, and 80 mg if you are younger than You can get the right amount of vitamin C in your daily prenatal vitamin, and also from citrus fruits and juices, strawberries, broccoli, and tomatoes.
Drink throughout the day, not just when you are thirsty. Aim for 8 to 12 cups of water a day during pregnancy. There are many tools that can help you plan healthy meals. One useful tool is the MyPlate food-planning guide from the U.
Department of Agriculture. The MyPlate website, www. The MyPlate website offers a MyPlate Plan, which shows how much to eat based on how many calories you need each day.
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