Do you need ante-natal supplements?
Many doctors prescribe an ante-natal multivitamin and mineral supplement because many pregnant women do not eat enough to meet their increased nutritional needs, especially with regard to the B vitamin folate.
Need for calcium
© Thinkstock
Even though your calcium needs do not increase with pregnancy, your baby needs calcium as early as four to six weeks after conception, when teeth and bones begin to form. By 25 weeks, your baby's needs are even higher due to significant bone growth at this time. During pregnancy, your body adapts to absorb more calcium from food, but it is still important to eat plenty of calcium-rich foods. If you do not include dairy products in your diet you may need to take a calcium supplement. As the amount of calcium you absorb depends on your levels of vitamin D, you should try to spend at least 10 minutes a day in the sun when you are pregnant.
Need for iron
Iron is necessary for the production of red blood cells in both the mother and her growing baby. A mother's blood volume increases by up to 50 per cent during pregnancy, requiring an extra 500mg of iron. The foetus requires an additional 300mg of iron, accumulating most of its iron stores during the third trimester. The body absorbs iron more efficiently from foods when you are pregnant, so if you have good stores of iron at the beginning of pregnancy it should not be necessary to increase your iron intake. If you had low iron stores at the outset, due to heavy blood loss from menstrual periods or a low dietary intake, an iron supplement may be needed to prevent anaemia. Vitamin C helps the body absorb iron.
Special need for folate
Supplementation with the B vitamin folate decreases the risk of neural tube defects in your baby (see Folate). Therefore, women who are planning a pregnancy should take a folate supplement. In fact, since about half of all pregnancies are unplanned, all young women could benefit from taking a multivitamin with folate. From the time of conception and for the first three months of pregnancy women are now advised to take a daily supplement of 400mcg folate. Thereafter the recommended intake of folate throughout pregnancy is 300mcg per day (it is 200mcg for non-pregnant women).
Women who have already had a pregnancy affected by a neural tube defect are advised to take a higher dose folate supplement, which their doctor will prescribe.
Lisa Hark, PhD RD & Dr Darwin Deen
Posted 14.02.2011
Get more on this subject…
