Important Vitamins For Prenatal Health

Vitamins are micronutrients -- compounds that humans don't use for energy and don't need in large amounts, but, nevertheless, are required to maintain health and well being. During pregnancy, you require many different vitamins, some of which you need in amounts greater than what is required by non-pregnant women. These vitamins can come in the form of food or be taken as a pregnancy supplement.

Folic Acid

One of the most crucial vitamins to a healthy pregnancy, explain Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel in their book, "What To Expect When You're Expecting," is folic acid. This vitamin is a B-vitamin, and it is found in some fruits, vegetables and grains. Most people get enough of it to fulfill their own needs, but if you are pregnant, you probably aren't getting enough from your diet to provide for both you and your developing baby. Folic acid is important to developing babies because it helps ensure proper formation of the neural tube, a structure that forms early during gestation and eventually develops into the spinal cord and column. Prenatal vitamins all contain 800 to 1000 mg of folic acid.

Vitamin C

Your immune system uses vitamin C to help you fight infection, and the cells use the vitamin to fight against damage from toxins and environmental radiation. When you're pregnant, you need more vitamin C than usual to help maintain a strong and healthy immune system. Vitamin C also helps to ensure that your gums stay healthy, which is important during pregnancy, because gum disease may lead to low birth weight and premature birth, according to Dr. Miriam Stoppard in her book "Conception, Pregnancy and Birth." Pregnancy hormones weaken gum tissue, and vitamin C helps strengthen it.

Vitamin D

Your body uses vitamin D to help take up calcium from the digestive tract, and calcium is very important during pregnancy. Calcium is part of the salt that makes up the structure of your bones; it is involved in certain chemical reactions; and it is also important to muscular movement and the heartbeat. Women need lots of vitamin D to help extract the calcium in their diet even when they're not pregnant; it helps maintain bone density and prevent osteoporosis. If you are pregnant, you need even more vitamin D than a non-pregnant woman, because you also have to provide calcium to a developing baby who is building bones. Dr. Raymond Poliakin in his book, "What You Didn't Think To Ask Your Obstetrician," explains that vitamin D supplements during pregnancy help ensure an adequate calcium level.