B Vitamins and Pregnancy

B vitamins are highly important for the woman’s body and their role will only get more important when we link this topic with pregnancy. All women need adequate quantities of B vitamins in their diets if they want to conceive a baby and contrary to popular belief, it is even important before conceiving. This basically means that there is a need to pay attention to B vitamin quantity intake one month before conceiving the baby and extreme special care is needed in the first month after becoming pregnant.

Out of all B vitamins, for pregnancy we need to pay special attention to folic acid. This particular vitamin is highly important even before conception and then in the first trimester. Folic acid aids because it can help to reduce the risk of the fetus developing neural tube defects. This includes spina bifida (the most common neural tube defect), anencephaly and encephalocele. Although folic acid is the most important B vitamin for pregnancy, a lot of women can make the mistake of neglecting the other members of the B complex vitamins. The problem at hand is that B vitamins are water soluble vitamins. This means that the adequate daily quantities need to be met because our bodies do not store such vitamins and excess is eliminated daily, mostly through urine. We will thus need to meet our daily recommended dosage of all B vitamins, especially during pregnancy, when there might also be a need to increase dosage due to the fact that we want our babies to develop properly. Out of all B vitamins (excluding folic acid, which was already discussed) we must pay special attention to thiamine, vitamin B6 and riboflavin during pregnancy. Vitamin B1 (thiamine) is crucial for the baby’s brain development so you can realize what failure to meet the needed daily requirements can lead to. Vitamin B6 is also important because it aids in the child’s developing of the nervous system and brain. B6 aids a lot in the formation of new red blood cells, which the baby will need of course. Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) needs to be included in the mother’s diet because it promotes the development of the baby’s nerves, muscles and bones.

B Vitamins and pregnancy is one topic that needs to be understood properly and failure to do this can lead to a lot of problems, as you can easily figure out by reading what was written above. The one other problem that you must be aware of is that B vitamins are not the only vitamins that are important for pregnancy. Never forget about Vitamin A, C and E and do not neglect the importance of minerals like iron, calcium and zinc. Do purchase and take prenatal vitamins and pregnancy vitamins that are recommended by your doctor or a real specialist, always stay informed about everything and treat pregnancy with seriousness in mind. Also, if you had problems at birth in the past you do need to consult a doctor and he/she can guide you properly through you conceiving a child that does get everything he/she needs from a proper nutrition and the extra vitamin supplements you might need.