Are you thinking about having a baby? If you are, you are joining a club that approximately 400,000 women in Canada join every year. Before you consider becoming pregnant with your partner, you need to take a serious look at your health. You need to be in the best health possible before you get pregnant. You can work towards better health through the use of prenatal multivitamins. Here is more information about why you need to take prenatal multivitamins with iron as soon as possible when pregnancy is in your future.
About Prenatal Vitamins
Prenatal multivitamins should be taken before you even begin to formulate conception. That’s because there are vitamins and nutrients your body needs to have the healthiest pregnancy possible. If you think about it, the first few weeks after conception are some of the most important weeks of your baby’s life. For example, in the first couple months of pregnancy, your baby’s brain, spinal cord, limbs, heart and brain have formed. That’s why it is so important to take prenatal multivitamins.
Prenatal multivitamins with folic acid are some of the most important vitamins you can take. Folic acid was practically unheard of as a supplement 30 years ago. Before it was known how important folic acid was for pregnancy, as many as 15 in every 1000 births were babies with a form of spina bifida. Scientists who researched spina bifida found that by taking 400 mg of folic acid every day during pregnancy, between 70 and 95% of all spina bifida cases could be prevented. Taking folic acid helps to seal the spinal cord during the first two months of pregnancy. With one prenatal multivitamin, you could prevent a serious birth defect.
You also need to think about including prenatal multivitamins with iron in your supplements. Iron is essential for your baby’s growth and development as well. Iron is used in your body, as well as your baby’s body to encourage the growth of red blood cells, and to ensure that oxygen rich blood makes it through your tissues as well as your infant’s tissues. During pregnancy, you need twice the amount of blood that you have normally in your body to help your baby grow and develop. If you don’t have enough iron in your blood, you or your child could develop anemia, and your baby may be underweight at birth. Your baby could also be born prematurely.
Prenatal vitamins with both iron and folic acid, as well as calcium and other vitamins, ensure you are taking care of yourself and your growing baby. Before you begin taking your prenatal multivitamins, you need to check with your physician to make sure you are ready to begin the conception and pregnancy process. By taking prenatal vitamins, you are giving your baby the best chance to be healthy and strong.
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