Necessary Vitamins for Pregnant Women

The physiology of a woman will change when pregnant and this is necessary in order to aid in the development of the baby. Among the changes we can mention an increase in blood volume, changes in hormone levels (i.e. estrogen levels are 10 to 70 times higher than pre-pregnancy levels), prolactin starts to be produced and so on. All these modifications have an impact on nutritional needs for the mother and the fetus depends on the woman for nutrition. This translates in the fact that the woman has to provide what the child needs and this can come at the cost of depleting her stores if needed. Such a situation needs to be avoided and we need to take counter actions. Let us take a look at the necessary vitamins for pregnant women.

You must first understand that all vitamins are needed for the body to work properly. The only thing that really changes stands in the daily requirements of these nutrients present. First on the list of necessary vitamins for pregnant women is folic acid and it is one vitamin that must be taken seriously. An adult woman requires around 400 mcg daily while pregnancy brings in a need to double that quantity. If these requirements are not met there is a risk of developing low weight infants and even neural tube defects. Another B vitamin, vitamin B1 (also known as thiamin) needs to be increased by 0.5 mg daily. Then we have vitamin B2, which needs the same increase as B1. Vitamin B3 is more important and although the extra needs are not that high (pregnant women require just 3 mg more on a daily basis as compared to regular women) it will make a difference in helping with a healthy birth length, head circumference and weight. 9 extra mg of vitamin B6 will also aid you as it needs to be used in nerve and blood synthesis. This increase in vitamin B6 will help in relieving morning sickness and nausea. As you can see most B vitamins are highly important but do not forget vitamin B12 as a 2 mcg increase daily will also aid pregnant women.

100 mcg of vitamin A (best taken as mixed carotenes) are utilized for healthy skin and improvement in the immune system and eyes. The problem is that if you take in too much vitamin A birth effects can appear. Never exceed 6,000 IU vitamin A daily but do take vitamin C constantly. This is because it is a very important antioxidant and although there is no extra need for the pregnant woman, it is required on a daily basis for an overall well functioning body. The same goes for vitamin K, which is responsible for assisting with blood clotting and bone metabolism.

Although there are these necessary vitamins for pregnant women you should never neglect the other important minerals (like zinc, magnesium and calcium) and other nutrients. Always purchase high quality supplements, watch your nutrition and the baby will be safe from any problems that might appear during pregnancy.