While prenatal vitamins are intended for pregnant women, MayoClinic.com recommends that you begin taking them three months before you plan to conceive, take them throughout your pregnancy and consult your physician about whether you should continue taking them if you plan to breastfeed. Prenatal vitamins contain all the regular vitamins and minerals found in multivitamins, including B-complex vitamins, vitamins A, C, D and E, calcium, zinc and iron, but the levels of three key ingredients particularly important for pregnancies are significantly higher in prenatal vitamins than in normal multivitamins.
Calcium
The recommended dietary allowance, or RDA, of calcium is 1,000 mg per day for pregnant women, and the Cleveland Clinic recommends looking for a prenatal vitamin that supplies at least 200 to 300 mg of calcium per tablet. Calcium is particularly important for fetal health because of calcium's role in bone and tooth formation. Adequate maternal intake not only helps fetal development, but also ensures that calcium isn't stripped from the mother's skeletal system in favor of the baby. Inadequate calcium consumption during pregnancy can reduce maternal bone density, increasing the risk of osteoporosis later in life.
Folate
The daily RDA of folate, or vitamin B12, for pregnant women is 600 mcg, according to the National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Safety, or ODS, but the Cleveland Clinic advises that pregnant women should take prenatal vitamins that supply 800 to 1,000 mcg of folate per day. Folate is essential to fetal health. Inadequate maternal folate consumption can lead to serious and often fatal birth defects, including anencephaly, encephalocele and spina bifida. Folate consumption plays such an important role in a healthy pregnancy that the FDA requires that all commercial flour products be fortified with folate.
Iron
The daily RDA of iron for pregnant women is 27 mg, but pregnant women should consume prenatal vitamins that provide at least 30 mg of iron per day, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Iron is essential to blood oxygenation, and helps in the development of fetal muscle cells.
References
- Mayo Clinic: Prenatal vitamins: Give your baby the best start
- Cleveland Clinic: Prenatal Vitamins
- National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements: Dietary Supplement Fact Sheet: Calcium
- National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements: Dietary Supplement Fact Sheet: Folate
- National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements: Dietary Supplement Fact Sheet: Iron
Member Comments