5 Essential Things to Know about Prenatal Vitamins

If you are a would-be mother, you would definitely want to give birth to a healthy baby. Along with a nutritious diet you need to take prenatal vitamins as well for growth and development of your baby. Prenatal vitamins help to plug the nutrition gap that your diet cannot fulfil during your pregnancy. But before you grab your prenatal vitamins, here are 5 essential things that you need to know about them:

1. Key nutrients

Not all prenatal vitamins have the same key nutrients as part of their composition. When you are taking prenatal vitamins to meet the nutritional needs of your pregnant self, make sure that they contain all the necessary ingredients. Such ingredients include folic acid, calcium, iron, DHA, vitamin D, iodine, etc. Each ingredient plays an essential role in the growth and development of your baby. As such, you have to make sure that your body receives the needed ingredients during your pregnancy period.

2. Quantity matters

It’s not enough to just take your prenatals. You have to make sure that you take them in the required quantity. Many pregnant women tend to believe that the more prenatal vitamins they take, the healthier their baby will be. However, this is nothing more than a big myth. Prenatal vitamins are meant to supplement your dietary requirements. But it’s necessary to intake them in the right amount to derive maximum benefit from them.

3. Right time to start taking prenatal vitamins

Though prenatal vitamins are meant to fulfil your nutritional needs during pregnancy, you should start taking them even before you conceive. Yes, that’s true. In fact, you should start taking them from the time you try to conceive. Your body must receive the necessary nutrients right from the beginning of the pregnancy period. Often women do not know that they are pregnant till they are well past the first month. By taking the nutrient supplements during the early stage, you can provide complete nutrition to your baby right from the time you conceive.

4. Prenatal vitamins are effective even after pregnancy

The effectiveness of prenatal vitamins does not end with childbirth. After you give birth to your baby, your body struggles to restore the cells and tissues impacted by the pregnancy. Prenatal vitamins help with your body’s internal restoration work. These vitamins also help to improve your immune system and deal with the blood loss that occurs when giving birth to a child. So, prenatal vitamins are useful for you even after your pregnancy period gets over.

5. Side effects

Prenatal vitamins are safe to take during your pregnancy. But there is a chance of your suffering from a few side effects that these supplements may cause. The most common side effect of taking prenatal vitamins is getting the feeling of nausea. Constipation is another side effect of prenatal vitamins. If you start facing any of these side effects due to the intake of prenatal vitamins, consult your physician for proper advice about overcoming them effectively.