What Extra Nutritional Needs Do Women Have During Conception and Pregnancy?

Prenatal multivitamins provide additional nutrition for a woman during pregnancy as her physiologic and metabolic needs change. If you were to compare a regular women’s multivitamin with a prenatal multivitamin, you would likely notice that prenatal multivitamins contain higher levels of folate and iron. This is because these two nutrients have been proven to be crucial during pregnancy and delivery. Furthermore, prenatal vitamins are often higher in essential fatty acids. When a woman becomes pregnant, she is no longer just feeding herself; she is feeding her developing baby as well. The additional vitamins, minerals, and nutrients in YAD-Tech’s PROGESTIA® may help to nourish both the mother and fetus. 

Common Deficiencies Among Pregnant Women

Multivitamin supplements can help pregnant women avoid certain nutritional deficiencies which can potentially harm the baby. Certain dietary or nutritional deficiencies can cause congenital abnormalities, birth defects in newborn babies, and even increase the child’s risk of chronic diseases later in life, including diabetes, hypertension, coronary artery disease and stroke. Eating a healthy diet is a great idea, but organic supplements may provide higher levels of the crucial nutrients needed for a healthy delivery and a healthy baby. Here is a list of common nutritional deficiencies that could impact a woman’s pregnancy:

Iron deficiency (anemia) – An iron deficiency is one of the most common deficiencies during pregnancy. A woman’s volume of blood naturally doubles during pregnancy, and iron is necessary for the production of red blood cells. So the increased volume of blood requires an increased quantity of iron. The human body cannot make iron; it must be absorbed from what you eat. Women generally have lower iron stores than men in the first place. The increased requirements during pregnancy and lactation can easily deplete a woman’s supply of iron.

Folate deficiency – A folate deficiency often goes hand-in-hand with an iron deficiency and can result in neural tube defects such as spina bifida. This is why most prenatal multivitamins are higher in folate than regular multivitamins.

Omega-3 fatty acids – Omega-3 fatty acids are critical building blocks of the fetal brain and retina. If omega-3 foods aren’t consumed on a regular basis, then women run the risk of a fatty acid deficiency during pregnancy. Supplements containing omega-3 fatty acids can help.  Most fatty acids supplements are derived from different types of fish or fish oil, so what can women who are pregnant and vegetarians do? Pregnant women can also get a sufficient supply of DHA from plant sources, such as kelp or algae.