Prenatal Vitamins - Surviving Pregnancy

Taking prenatal vitamins is so important for expectantdevelopment. The vitamin helps prevent birth defects
mothers, and their babies as well. When you first learnlike spina-bifida. Only three out of nine vitamins on
that you are indeed pregnant, your doctor will prescribeaverage actually provide the amount of folate labeled
a good prenatal vitamin for you to take. Sometimeson the bottle. This is not to suggest that the
your doctor will give you several different samples ofsupplements do not have the vitamin, it just is not
various brands for you to take in order to find the oneabsorbed by the woman's body.
that is right for you.Some argue that it is better to take a prenatal vitamin
You will often hear at times of people who assert thatprescribed by a doctor. However, this is not
the vitamins are beneficial for women who arenecessarily the case. While prescribed vitamins are
planning to conceive. Using the supplements beforeideal, many of the very same vitamins are available in
getting pregnant helps prevent certain birth defects.stores and without a prescription. The most important
Some mothers choose to continue taking prenatalthing to consider is the ingredients in the vitamins.
vitamins throughout their pregnancies and while theyAnother important factor to consider is whether the
are breastfeeding.prenatal vitamins are easily absorbed or not.
It is important to remember that the prenatal vitaminsThere is an easy test you can use to determine if the
are supplements. They do not replace a balanced diet.vitamins will be absorbed into your system. Put one of
It is not good practice to rely on vitamins for all of yourthe prenatal vitamins into a cup of water. Wait ten
nutritional needs. It is more important to eat a healthy,minutes. If the vitamin is dissolved, or is very soft, it will
well-balanced diet than it is to take pills, no matter howbe absorbed into your system. If the vitamin remains
beneficial they are. The vitamins also work betterhard, it will probably pass through your system without
when they are taken with a healthy diet. Some of thedepositing many of the nutrients it carries.
nutrients in the foods help to absorb the vitamins.It is a good idea to talk to your doctor when deciding
Calcium is an extremely important element in awhich prenatal vitamin is best for you. I found that the
pregnant woman's diet. Prenatal vitamins do not havevitamin my doctor prescribed made me very
the recommended daily allowance of calcium for annauseous. I told my doctor about the trouble I was
expecting mother. Prenatal vitamins have about 250having and she recommended a supplement that I
milligrams of calcium but an expectant mother requirescould buy over the counter. This vitamin was not a
between 1,200 and 1,500 milligrams of calcium eachpotent as the one she originally prescribed, but I was
day to assure that the baby will develop properly. Thisgetting more nutrients because I was able to tolerate
is a significant difference.them much better.
Not every prenatal vitamin is the same; in fact someFinding the right prenatal vitamin may take a little trial
may not benefit the expectant mother as much asand error, but the benefits are great. Just continue to
they claim. Recent studies show that a pregnantkeep in mind that you still need to maintain a healthy
woman's body does not necessarily absorb all of thediet. The benefits of prenatal vitamins are enormous
nutrients provided by the vitamins, especially folate.and highly recommended, but good nutrition is still better
Folate is extremely important in the baby's prenatalthan any supplement.