Although you will get some nutrition from the foods you eat during pregnancy, most doctors also recommend pregnant women take prenatal vitamins. This time of your life, while carrying a new baby is the one time you want to be your best. After all, everything you consume is being passed on to the baby so getting proper vitamins and minerals is essential to the baby before and after birth.
Now, when I was pregnant with my second child, my daughter, I had a little bit of morning sickness. I was very fortunate in that with both my children, this phase was insignificant and short-lived. However, during my second pregnancy, I started on prenatal vitamins just as I had taken with my son, sometime around six weeks. The difference was this time, I felt sicker. I kept thinking it was just the pregnancy but my doctor recommended I go off the vitamins. I was concerned this was not a good decision but she explained that as long as I ate healthy foods, I could wait until the second trimester to start taking vitamins.
I did go off the prenatal vitamins until I was in my fifth month of pregnancy. In addition to the morning sickness ending, I also delivered a beautiful, healthy baby girl. Now, it is essential that you get adequate amounts of riboflavin, niacin, and thiamin, which will help give you more energy. However, if you are like me where prenatal vitamins make you sick in the first trimester then you might talk to your doctor and increase your intake of legumes, pork, whole grains, and organ meats.
Prenatal vitamins also provide higher levels of folic acid, vitamin B6 and B12, vitamins A, C, D, E, and K, calcium, beta-carotene, iron, and phosphorous. To give you an idea of the importance of prenatal vitamins, let’s look at a few of these nutrients. Iron is a great example. During the third trimester of pregnancy, your baby will use a tremendous amount of iron, which comes from your stored levels. If you do not have enough iron for you, let alone the baby, then the baby is at risk for anemia.
Now, just as prenatal vitamins are important, it is even more important that you work with your doctor on when to take them, the kind to take, and how long to take them. For instance, while beta-carotene is needed for the development of the baby, it should only be from foods high in Vitamin A. The problem is that some supplements and drugs contain a substance called retinol, which is known to cause birth defects. Therefore, work closely with your doctor on diet and prenatal vitamins to ensure your baby is born strong and healthy.