Whether you are trying to conceive or just found out you are pregnant, prenatal vitamins are a must. Not only are they vital for the healthy development of your baby but also extremely beneficial for your health while carrying your little miracle. It can be so overwhelming to choose a prenatal because there are so many out there. Here, we’ve done the hard part in researching the key ingredients, along with the dosages, you need in your prenatal.
Folic Acid
Folic acid or folate is the number one thing to look for and is found in the majority of prenatal vitamins. The recommended daily dosage is 400-800 mcg (micrograms). It helps to prevent neural tube defects which are abnormalities that can occur in the brain and spinal cord. Folic acid helps your body to produce and maintain new cells which is crucial during early pregnancy because that is exactly what’s happening in your body. An added benefit of folate is that it can treat certain types of anemia and also helps to prevent DNA changes that can lead to cancer.
Choline
Choline is found in a lot of foods we eat on a daily basis, making it easier to get our daily dosage of 400-450 mcg in. Depending on your diet, you may not even need to take a choline supplement. Eggs are a great natural source of choline. One egg has approximately 150 mcg of choline in it so if you eat about three eggs per day, that would be enough to satisfy the daily value recommended.
Iodine
Iodine is important to have for the healthy development of your baby’s brain and is equally as crucial for the mother. As pregnancy progresses, your thyroid will have an increase of stress. Not having enough iodine makes it harder for your thyroid to function properly, which can in turn lead to increased risk of preterm labor or miscarriage. The recommended daily dose of iodine is 150 mcg.
Iron
Iron helps to transfer oxygen into the tissues of your body. During pregnancy you will need double the amount of iron you normally would because you need iron to make more blood to supply oxygen to your baby. Iron is often times the culprit for nausea so sometimes women opt out of vitamins that have the recommended daily dose of iron to try to combat the nausea. But here is a little secret you may find helpful. Get a prenatal, or you can take it as a standalone supplement, with ginger in it. Ginger is proven to help soothe nausea. 20-30 mg (milligrams) is recommended daily.
Vitamin D
Did you know that 42% of Americans are Vitamin D deficient? 1000-4000 IUs (international units) is recommended daily and of course you can get Vitamin D from the sun. Sometimes weather or the area we live in don’t allow us to be outside and get all the sun we need, so supplementing with vitamin d in your prenatal can be beneficial. Vitamin D helps us to absorb calcium and phosphate. It helps your baby’s bones, teeth, nervous system and heart to develop properly. It can be hard to tell if you are getting enough so even if you live in a sunny area it can’t hurt to take a little extra.
Now that you know the key ingredients to look for in your prenatal, how do you know if it’s getting the job done? Checking the absorbency of the vitamin can help you get an idea of how much of the vitamin is actually being absorbed by your body. Most vitamin labels don’t mention anything about the absorbency rate and of course it can differ from person to person but a great way to get an idea of how much of your vitamin is being absorbed is by placing it in a glass of water for 50 minutes. If most or all of the vitamin has dissolved, then it is more than likely being absorbed just fine by your body. Luckily most prenatal vitamins out there contain these ingredients. Just be sure to consult with your doctor to see what’s best for you and your baby.
