Picking a Prenatal Vitamin

A healthy, balanced diet and exercise is important to everyone for good health, but maintaining proper nutrition is especially vital during pregnancy for a mother and her growing baby. Finding the right prenatal vitamin is essential to supplement to your healthy lifestyle choices and to ensure a healthy pregnancy for both mother and baby. Folic acid, Vitamin C, iron and calcium are essential to a baby’s growth that a woman needs both before and during pregnancy. Follow the seven steps below to help find a prenatal vitamin that is just right for you and your baby.

1. When looking for a good prenatal vitamin, discuss with your doctor the right mix of nutrients for you. Your nutritional needs and your babies needs may be different during pregnancy and your obstetrician can help you address these issues, take them into consideration and choose the proper prenatal vitamin for you. Make sure to tell your Doctor of any family history of birth defects, this is vital information and may affect the kind of vitamin your doctor recommends.

2. Take time to research vitamins and minerals that are especially important for women during pregnancy and be aware of their benefits. Most obstetricians recommend an increased intake of folic acid, vitamins A and D, calcium to help prevent bone density loss, and iron to aid in oxygen production in the blood of both mother and baby. A rercnt study in Canada concluded that all pregnant women should take 4,000 international units of vitamin D daily. The study found that women in its 4,000-IU-a-day group had half the risk of premature delivery than women who took just 400 IU of vitamin D daily. On the other hand, remember, that more isn’t always better. In a recent study of over 20,000 pregnant women, those who took supplements with more than 10,000 IU a day of pre-formed vitamin A were almost five times more likely to give birth to a baby with a birth defect than women who consumed 5,000 IU or less.

3. Make sure to shop around for your prenatal vitamins or supplements at several different Pharmacies, Health and Nutritional Stores. This will give you the best understanding of the different kinds of vitamins or supplements available to you and what is contained in each of them.

4. In general, it is recommended that pregnant women take in 4000 IU of vitamin D; 30 mg of iron; 4000 IU of vitamin D; 4,000 IU of vitamin A; 300 mg of calcium and between 800 and 1,000 mcg of folic acid daily. It is known that Folic Acid reduces the chances of having a baby with birth defects, namely Spina Bifida. You will find, most of the aforementioned vitamins and minerals are available in most over the counter prenatal vitamins you find these days.

5. Be sure to consult your obstetrician or pharmacist for any potential side effects or interactions between medications you are currently taking and ingredients in your prenatal vitamin or supplements. Ask your local pharmacist all the questions you have about prenatal vitamins or supplements and any prescription or over-the-counter medications you are currently taking. Pharmacists should be able to provide you with information about side effects and interactions that any of these medications may have with prenatal vitamins you are purchasing.

6. Take your prenatal vitamin daily and remember they are only meant to supplement a already healthy diet. Make sure to eat plenty of protein, iron-containing leafy greens and vegetables, and calcium-rich dairy products.

7. Never begin a health or diet regimen of any kind without consulting your primary care physician first. Stop taking your prenatal vitamin if you experience complications, side effects, or changes in your health. Consult your obstetrician or physician as soon as possible. Many women have difficulty tolerating prenatal vitamins or experience constipation as a result of the high iron content. Due to tolerance challenges, prenatal vitamin companies have developed many dosage forms to meet the needs and tolerances of expecting mothers

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