Monday, February 15, 2010

Prenatal Nutrition For Healthy Pregnancy

Prenatal Nutrition For Healthy Pregnancy
The basic principle of eating healthy food remains the same during pregnancy. However, there are few nutrients that deserves special attention in a pregnancy diet. You need to know what essential vitamins and nutrients you should provide for your baby.

Many expecting mothers often become victim of some vitamin or nutrient deficits. This becomes a problem not to the baby but to the mother as well. So you need to know which prenatal nutrients you need to take more. Here are some of the top pick.

Folic Acid

Folic acid is a B vitamin vital for preventing neural tube defects, serious abnormalities of the brain and spinal cord. When there is a lack of folate in your diet, it may also increase the risk of preterm delivery. You need 800 micrograms of folic acid before conceiving and around 1,000 micrograms a day during your pregnancy.

Protein

Protein is another important nutrient that is essential for the baby’s growth. Your baby’s physical growth largely depends on protein especially during the 2nd and 3rd trimesters. You need at least 71 grams of protein a day.

Iron

The lack of iron during pregnancy may result in fatigue and more vulnerable to infections. The use of iron especially during pregnancy nearly doubles. You need at least 27 milligrams of iron in a day.

Calcium

Calcium aids in developing strong bones and teeth. It also helps the body circulatory, muscular and nervous systems. Why the mother needs to take calcium in pregnancy is that if there is lack of calcium in the body then the baby will absorb it from the mother’s bones. So, you need 1,000 milligrams of calcium a day.

Prenatal Supplements

A healthy diet sometimes misses key nutrients. Taking prenatal vitamins daily will help to fill up the gap. Pregnancy prenatal vitamins provide the exact nutrients that are needed during pregnancy.

No comments:

Post a Comment