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Vitamins and Nutrition During Pregnancy?

Maternal Nutrition is Important

During pregnancy, it is important that you eat a healthy diet to keep you and your developing baby healthy. The need for certain nutrients such as iron, iodine and folate increases during this time.

Eating a diet which includes a variety of foods from the five main food groups generally provides our bodies with enough of each vitamin and mineral each day. However, pregnant women may need to supplement their diet with extra nutrients Consult your doctor or midwife before taking supplements.

Here Are a List Of Some Vitamins And Minerals That Need To Be Consumed Before, during and after Pregnancy:

• Vitamin D -

You need vitamin D to help regulate the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body. These are needed to keep bones and teeth healthy and to provide your baby with vitamin D for the first few months of its life. It is recommended to take 10 micrograms of vitamin D daily throughout the pregnancy and while breastfeeding.

• Folic Acid

is a B group vitamin which helps protect against neural tube defects in the developing foetus. It is strongly advised that women who are planning a pregnancy and those who are already pregnant, take a daily supplement that contains at least 400 micrograms of folic acid.

• Iron

is an important nutrient for pregnant mothers. Pregnancy can deplete a mother’s stores of iron, therefore it is important to supplement your diet with iron to help build and maintain these stores. The average requirement for iron in pregnancy is 27mg. Eating a mixed diet of animal and plant foods can help you achieve your recommended iron intake, but adding a supplement containing iron can also help you maintain your iron levels.

• Calcium

is vital to help build strong bones and teeth in your baby as well as for the development of a healthy heart , nerves and muscles

• Iodine

is needed by our bodies for the development of essential Thyroid hormones. The thyroid hormones regulate the body’s metabolic rate and promote growth and development throughout the body, including the brain.

There are many other essential vitamins and nutrients that a pregnant woman needs. Only some have been listed here.

Pregnant Belly's - Some Facts & Some Fiction

One of the most exciting things about a pregnancy, especially for first-time mums, has to be watching their belly grow as the pregnancy progresses.

First-time mums usually start to notice a bump between 12 and 18 weeks with their first baby, and anywhere from 6 to 18 weeks with their second and later babies.

Inevitably people will tell you (wrongly) that if you're carrying low you're having a boy, and vice versa.

Well here are some actual facts about baby bumps:

Is it a boy or girl?: There are lots of old wives' tales that claim to predict the sex of your baby. The shape of your baby bump, whether your baby is carried high or low, and your cravings for sweet food or salty food, none of these have been proven to be accurate predictors.


The highs and lows:  When a woman carries high, her abdominal muscles are often in good shape, while lax muscles from age, previous pregnancies or decreased fitness can cause her to carry low. Taller women usually have narrower pregnant bellies while shorter women carry wider.

Will it be sooner or later? Most bellies don't reveal a pregnancy until the second trimester. Until then, the uterus is usually hidden behind the pubic bone. "When women look like they are showing earlier, it is often due to the bloating that accompanies early pregnancy. You may also show earlier if you have been pregnant before or your ab muscles are lax.

What’s my line? The linea negra—the vertical dark line that runs up your belly is caused by pregnancy hormones. It is usually more pronounced in women with darker skin. It fades after pregnancy and your new "outie" bellybutton will likely go back to normal, as well!

Too big or too little: Starting at about 20 weeks, your doctor or midwife will measure your fundal weight, or distance from your pubic bone to the top of your uterus, at every prenatal visit.

There is a simple formula for calculating how large your pregnant belly should be at any given point in your pregnancy. Start with the number of weeks you're pregnant, then add two to that number and also subtract two from that number, which will give you the range your belly should be within. For example, if you're 30 weeks pregnant your belly should be between 28 and 32 centimeters. If you're 25 weeks along, your belly should measure between 23 and 27 centimeters

There are a variety of reasons why your belly could be measuring outside of this range but rest assured if your doctor or midwife is concerned about your belly, he or she will order an ultrasound to check on your baby. The ultrasound will measure the circumference around your baby's stomach and head as well as the length of her legs to see if there may be a problem.

Lastly, know that friends and family (and even total strangers) love to discuss the size of a pregnant woman's belly. So if you get upset by anyone's comments on yours, just try to ignore them. It's your doctor's or midwife’s job to monitor your pregnancy and unless she's concerned about your belly size, no one else should be…especially you.

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