The Benefits of Prenatal Vitamins: Everything You Need to Know

Most mommas and moms-to-be are aware that they'll need to take in more macro and micronutrients during pregnancy. Pregnant women are instructed from early on to eat a well-balanced diet daily to ensure that their and their growing baby's nutritional needs are met.

However, this sound advice is not always so easy to achieve. We all deal with busy schedules that can make it challenging to eat healthy, and even with the best efforts to achieve a balanced diet, expectant mothers might not get adequate amounts of all essential nutrients.

To compensate for these nutritional gaps, prenatal care providers often recommend a prenatal vitamin for pregnant women. Prenatal supplements are fortified with vitamins and minerals crucial for pregnant mothers. They help ensure their babies' healthy development by avoiding the negative health consequences of nutrient deficiencies.

Today, we'll explore the benefits of taking prenatal vitamins, what ingredients to look for in a prenatal supplement, and how to take these vitamins safely.

What Are the Benefits of Taking Prenatal Vitamins?

Prenatal vitamins have tremendous benefits for the little human in your womb and your health as a mother. Here are eight reasons that these little capsules are advantageous to mothers and their babies:

1. Prenatal vitamins supply nutrients that improve expectant mothers' immune function, reducing the risk of infection.

2. Multi-nutrient supplementation improves the energy levels of pregnant women. As a result, you can go about your busy day without feeling as fatigued!

3. Prenatal vitamins improve pregnant women's anabolic processes-a term for biological processes that increase growth. This allows your body to more easily support your and your baby's needs.

4. Research shows that pregnant women respond to stress better when using prenatal vitamins.

5. Women who take prenatal supplements have higher hemoglobin levels, promoting a better oxygen supply to their babies.

6. Research shows that women who receive multivitamins in addition to iron and folic acid are at a lower risk of having stillbirths.

7. The B vitamins in prenatal supplements may help relieve some symptoms of morning sickness, such as nausea and vomiting. And let's just face it, we could all do without those!

8. Prenatal vitamins improve your baby's supply of essential micronutrients, promoting normal growth and development. An adequate supply of micronutrients can also reduce the risk of birth defects.

When Should You Start Taking Prenatal Vitamins?

Depending on your nutritional status, your obstetrician or midwife will advise you on the best time to start taking a prenatal vitamin. These supplements may be taken before conception, during, and after pregnancy.

Prenatal care providers prescribe prenatal vitamins when a woman is preparing to get pregnant. This is because some essential micronutrients, such as folic acid and iron, play a vital role in the early stages of embryonic development.

But, of course, not all moms have the opportunity to prepare for pregnancy beforehand. Surprise pregnancies are not uncommon, and some women only realize that they are pregnant a month or so later. In such cases, you should start taking a prenatal vitamin as soon as possible, but remember to consult your prenatal care provider to assess your nutritional needs!

In most cases, a pregnant mother will need to take a prenatal vitamin throughout and after the pregnancy. You may be wondering, why after the pregnancy? This is because even after birth, in the case of exclusive breastfeeding, your baby continues to rely solely on you for their nutrition. Eating a balanced diet and supplementing with a prenatal vitamin will help you get the nutrients your little one depends on! 

Look Out for These Essential Nutrients When Choosing a Prenatal Vitamin

Prenatal supplements usually contain essential vitamins, minerals, and other vital nutrients, such as prenatal DHA. Different brands of supplements will have different types of micronutrients, but the following micronutrients are crucial to your baby's development.

Iron

Our bodies need iron to produce hemoglobin, which is responsible for circulating oxygen from the lungs to the body and your baby.

An adequate supply of iron helps prevent anemia during and after pregnancy, puerperal sepsis, low birth weight, and preterm birth. However, the iron we get from food might not satisfy your and your developing baby's needs. While pregnant, women experience a natural increase in blood volume, which causes blood iron levels to become more diluted. Additionally, growing babies need more iron from their mothers to get enough oxygen. For these reasons, iron supplementation is recommended.

Folic Acid

Folic acid is crucial for your baby's brain and spinal cord development. A deficiency in folic acid is linked to neural tube and other birth defects.

Ideally, folic acid supplements should be taken from 3 months before conception or up until the first 7 weeks of pregnancy to help support the closure of the neural tube. This is because neural tube defects develop in the first 3-5 weeks of pregnancy before most women realize they are expecting.

Calcium

Calcium supplementation is recommended for pregnant women to reduce the risk of pre-eclampsia. Pre-eclampsia is a condition that is characterized by high blood pressure and other organ damage in pregnant women.

Furthermore, your developing baby depends on you for their calcium needs-a mineral necessary for bone formation. You'll also likely lose your bone density if you're not getting enough calcium.

Zinc

Studies show that zinc deficiency in pregnant women negatively affects fetal development, resulting in poor birth outcomes. Zinc is associated with reduced preterm births, especially in low-income areas. Therefore, taking a prenatal vitamin containing zinc is a good idea.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D plays a critical role in bone metabolism because it balances the absorption of calcium and phosphate. Vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy has been linked to an increased risk of pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes mellitus, and preterm birth.

Taking supplements containing vitamin D during pregnancy improves the mother's vitamin D status, reducing the risks associated with Vitamin D deficiency.

Vitamin B-1, B-2, and B-3

The vitamin B complex is crucial for healthy fetal development and the general welfare of pregnant women. Vitamin B-1 (thiamine) is essential in fetal brain development, and pregnant women need a daily dose of 1.4 milligrams.

Vitamin B-2 (riboflavin) helps maintain the healthy skin and eyes of the pregnant mother. Vitamin B-3 (niacin) promotes digestion and better metabolism of nutrients by pregnant women.

Vitamin B-6

Vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine) supports babies' brain and nervous system development. Moreover, it is used in the production of norepinephrine and serotonin, which are vital neurotransmitters. Pyridoxin is also valuable for easing nausea and vomiting from morning sickness.

Vitamin B-12

Finally, vitamin B-12 is important for red blood cell formation and the proper functioning of the nervous system. Together with folic acid, vitamin B-12 also helps reduce the risks of spinal and nerve birth defects.

Iodine

Our bodies use iodine in the production of thyroid hormones. During pregnancy, the need for iodine increases due to increased thyroid activity. Therefore, pregnant women do not get adequate iodine intake from an ordinary diet.

Thyroid hormones are essential for the healthy development of fetal nerves, rapid brain growth, and general growth regulation.

Inadequate intake of iodine during pregnancy increases the chance of perinatal and infant mortality, intellectual impairment, and cretinism. Cretinism is a condition that results from under-activity of the thyroid gland at birth (hypothyroidism) and is characterized by delayed and abnormal growth.

For these reasons, a prenatal vitamin with iodine is recommended. 

Vitamin A

Vitamin A (retinol) promotes fetal eye development, prevents night blindness, and boosts the immune function of pregnant women.

Vitamin A deficiency increases the risk of miscarriage and other pregnancy complications, night blindness, and embryonic development. On the other hand, excessive vitamin A intake actually increases the incidence of birth defects.

For this reason, vitamin A supplementation is only recommended for women with vitamin A deficiency. That means you should only take a prenatal vitamin containing vitamin A with a doctor's prescription.

Other Essential Nutrients to Consider

Research has shown that choline is vital in promoting health for pregnant mothers and their babies. Choline plays a critical role in improving neurotransmission and gene expression. A choline deficiency results in neural tube and metabolic defects in infants.

The American Medical Association (AMA) has recognized the critical role of choline in brain and neural tube development. According to the AMA, choline reduces the risk of birth defects, and its deficiency negatively affects the cognitive development of babies. Consequently, the AMA recommends that all prenatal vitamins contain evidence-based beneficial amounts of choline.

Why Choose a Prenatal Vitamin With DHA?

Prenatal vitamins containing Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an omega-3 fatty acid, are best for expectant mothers. Omega-3 fatty acids are essential building blocks of your baby's brain and retina. Studies also suggest that omega-3 may help reduce psychosocial stress in pregnant women.

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosatetraenoic acid (EPA) are the most commonly available forms of omega-3. Seafood offers a rich source of omega-3 fats, but due to concerns over mercury levels and other contaminants in seafood, many women in the US avoid seafood.

Therefore, prenatal vitamins containing omega-3 could help compensate for this nutritional gap. For mothers who prefer to avoid fish oil, there are also DHA supplements sourced from algae.

Multi-Micronutrient vs Iron-Folic Acid Supplementation

The World Health Organization (WHO) and some prenatal care providers recommend iron-folic acid supplements to pregnant women. While iron and folate are some of the most critical nutrients needed by both the mother and the baby during pregnancy, they generally don't cover all the bases.

Studies have revealed that supplementation with multi-micronutrients has more benefits than iron-folate supplements. Multiple-micronutrient supplementation can help to reduce low birth weight, improve birth weight, and prevent other pregnancy complications.

Besides folate, other micronutrients such as vitamin B-6 and B-12, choline, vitamin D, and prenatal DHA are important for fetal neural tube and brain development.

Multi-micronutrient supplements also tremendously benefit the mother's health. For example, a supplement with calcium reduces the risk of pre-eclampsia. Therefore, when choosing prenatal vitamins, many health experts recommend choosing one with a wider variety of micronutrients.

It is important that you consult your doctor before taking multi-micronutrient supplements. This is because some micronutrients, such as vitamin A, are only recommended for women with a deficiency.

If taken without a proper prescription, some micronutrients might have undesired effects on both the mother's and the baby's health.

Possible Side Effects of Prenatal Vitamins: The Causes, and What You Can Do To Avoid Them

Some women may experience side effects from taking prenatal vitamins. Although most of these side effects are only minor issues, they can still be a bother.

Here are some of the common side effects reported from the use of prenatal vitamins:

Some prenatal vitamins may cause or worsen nausea during pregnancy. If the supplements cause unbearable nausea, you should consult your doctor to change your prescription. It's worth noting that chewable and liquid forms of prenatal supplements tend to be better tolerated than tablets.

Pregnant women might also experience constipation as a result of taking prenatal vitamins. This is caused by the iron present in the supplements. Consuming a high-fiber diet, drinking enough water, and exercising might help reduce constipation.

Vitamin A and E tend to affect the skin and hair of pregnant mothers. Vitamin A is known to cause hair loss, as well as dryness and itchiness of the skin. On the other hand, Vitamin E might cause the skin to develop rashes and be sensitive.

Other side effects include stomach upsets, staining of teeth, bloating, and gas, among others. It can be difficult sometimes for pregnant women to discern whether their symptoms are the result of morning sickness or their prenatal supplements, as some of the symptoms overlap. If you suffer any serious side effects from the intake of prenatal vitamins, please talk to your doctor immediately.

Conclusion

An adequate supply of both macro and micronutrients is essential for the welfare of both the pregnant mother and the developing baby. For this reason, pregnant women should ensure that they follow a healthy and balanced diet. However, supplements can help fill nutritional gaps for expectant mothers who don't receive the required amounts of micronutrients from their diet. Prenatal vitamins contain essential vitamins and minerals needed for both maternal health and babies' development.

Although women occasionally experience some undesirable effects from using prenatal vitamins, the benefits outweigh the side effects. Prenatal supplements containing multiple vitamins and minerals have more benefits than traditional iron-folic acid supplements. Therefore, pregnant women should consider choosing multi-nutrient supplements instead.

However, informing yourself of the risks of taking multi-nutrient supplements is also key. For instance, an overdose of some nutrients, such as vitamins A, K, D, and E, can be detrimental to the health of both the mother and the baby.

So, remember to get advice from your doctor about which kind of supplement is right for you and discuss if you are on any other medication or supplements, as some may negatively interact with prenatal vitamins. We wish you and your little one health and happiness!