Pregnancy and nursing are really important periods of a woman’s life because her body then needs an adequate amount of nutrients to nourish her and also her little baby. Although each woman has their own demand for nutrition levels, a nutrient-filled diet is actually their most important thing as a general rule and the other supplements cannot replace a healthy diet as well as good lifestyle habits indeed.

Eating a healthy and varied diet with various kinds of minerals and vitamins for pregnancy is necessary for the current and later health of a woman. Depending on the experience of women through thousands of decade, the list of useful nutrients, as well as healthy foods, has been clearly shown along with another group to avoid during this period.

It is time now for VKool.com to show you typical minerals and vitamins for pregnancy conception. All of the suggested substances have been believed and applied for pregnant women as a general rule for hundreds of decades that are enclosed with certain foods maintaining them to find out. For those who are in the pregnancy period, just spend a few minutes reading our article to have more experience!

14 Typical Minerals And Vitamins For Pregnancy Conception

1. Iron

Iron is considered as one of the most important minerals and vitamins for pregnancy. While a pregnant woman depletes the iron stores of mothers, an appropriate intake of this mineral is more and more necessary to maintain and build these stores. Nobody wants to suffer from a deficiency of iron because it can make mothers very tired and suffer from anemia and cause premature birth or low birth weight indeed. According to the studies, the average demand for iron in pregnant women is 22mg per day but probably larger, 27mg per day, in some other women. An effective way to achieve enough iron as well as other minerals and vitamins for pregnancy is applying mixed and varied diets of plant and animal foods.

In fact, the absorption of this mineral is better from animal foods like lean meat than plant sources including green leafy vegetables, dried nuts, and fruit. Red meat is known as the best source of iron along with other minerals like protein and zinc and other vitamins for pregnancy. Other kinds of meat like fish and chicken also contain iron but less than that of red meat in fact. In combination with red meat, you should also take in many leafy green vegetables by eating directly or using their juices, for example from broccoli, tomato, and capsicum, legumes, and breakfast cereals. However, coffee, tea, and unprocessed bran should be inhibited because they restrict the iron absorption.

If you want to eat peanuts or some other foods containing peanuts like peanut butter during pregnancy, it is really a good idea to achieve a healthy balanced diet, provided that you are not allergic to them. And in cases your iron level becomes low, you can also take in iron supplements in place of foods to have quicker effects but just applying them under the direction of doctors.

2. Vitamin D

Vitamin D is another of the important vitamins for pregnancy. This vitamin helps regulate the amount of phosphate and calcium in the body, 2 essential substances for the teeth, bone, and muscle health. According to the studies, all adults including both pregnant and breastfeeding women require 10 micrograms of vitamin D per day, and they are even suggested to take a supplement to achieve this amount. The reason making vitamin D one of the important vitamins for pregnancy is that it helps reduce the risks of some complications related to pregnant women like gestational diabetes. In addition, this vitamin is useful for the bone and hormone development of babies as well as supporting the immune system of mothers during pregnancy. It has been informed that nursing babies can receive vitamin D from the mom’s milk when the mom gets more than 5,000IU per day.

You may hear that your body makes vitamin D when your skin is exposed to the sunlight but it is not exactly known how much time needed to gain enough this vitamin for the body’s need. An advice is exposing your skin to the sunlight in the early morning and late afternoon provided that you are out taking care of yourself by protecting your skin from turning into red or burn because of unhealthy sunlight.

Vitamin D exists in some foods like eggs, red meat, and oily fish including salmon, mackerel, sardines, and herring. In addition, this vitamin is added to some breakfast cereals, infant formula milk, non-dairy milk alternatives, and fat spreads but the added amounts are just small indeed. And because just a tiny amount of vitamin D is found in natural foods or other addition, it is difficult to achieve an enough amount from foods alone. Therefore, everyone over the age of 5, particularly pregnant and breastfeeding women, need to take a daily supplement of vitamin D with a dose of 10mcg.

3. Vitamin C

Vitamin C is also one of the necessary vitamins for pregnancy. It is because this vitamin helps improve the absorption of iron, protect cells against free radicals in the body and keep them healthy. In addition, it plays an important role in the formation of collagen, a very important process in blood vessels. Particularly, the requirement for vitamin C is increased in pregnant women because of the larger blood volume of mothers and the growth of babies inside.

According to the studies, the average demand for vitamin C is 40mg per day during pregnancy but some women need more, about 60 mg per day as well. The good sources of vitamin C, as you know, include a wide range of fruit and vegetables. Some typical ones with vitamin C and other vitamins for pregnancy are broccoli, tomatoes, bell peppers, citrus fruits, and blackcurrants.

4. Prenatal Multivitamin

There have been some debates on whether the multivitamin prenatal is essential during pregnancy or not. Of course, you may not take a multivitamin as a routine but pregnancy and nursing are periods you may have to do this because a deficiency of minerals and vitamins for pregnancy makes no immediate and tremendous impact on adults in normal condition but can cause lasting consequences for babies during the intensive development of pregnancy.

In fact, a high-quality multivitamin prenatal is considered as an insurance method or sorts to protect against deficiencies but it should be accompanied by a high nutrient diet. That means you should consume various kinds of foods including fresh vegetables, fruits, meat, fish, and eggs as well as processed products made by them to supply enough vitamins for pregnancy.

5. Calcium

Calcium is also ranked at a group of important minerals and vitamins for pregnancy. This mineral is vital for the bone and teeth health of babies, particularly in combination with vitamin D and calcium. The suggested dietary requirement of calcium is 1000 mg per day for a pregnant woman over 18 years old and 1300mg for teenagers between 14 and 18 years old.

There are various kinds of food rich in calcium you should know such as fish with edible bones like sardines, breakfast cereals, bread, dried fruit like figs and apricots, almonds, green leafy vegetables like broccoli, watercress, and curly kale, and tofu that is known as a vegetable protein from soybeans. In addition, if you cannot get enough calcium through your daily diet, you can take a supplement of this mineral at least 1000mg a day.

6. Iodine

Iodine is considered as one of the necessary minerals and vitamins for pregnancy. While all of the developing babies in the womb, toddlers, and young children are possible to suffer from the deficiency of iodine, this mineral is really essential for the human body, so there needs to be an addition of iodine. This mineral is beneficial for the production of thyroid hormone that regulates the body temperature, metabolism, proper growth, reproduction, blood cell production, and the function of nerve and muscle indeed. Moreover, a deficiency of iodine whether being mild or moderate can result in the difficulties in learning and affect the hearing ability and motor skills.

Iodine is found much in seafood but there are some other sources like milk and vegetables, which depends on the amount of iodine in the soil. In fact, it is difficult for pregnant women to achieve enough iodine as required through natural foods, so they are occasionally suggested to take in a supplement of this mineral of 150 micrograms per day.

7. Zinc

Zinc is also ranked at the list of the important minerals and vitamins for pregnancy. It is a component of various enzymes beneficial in maintaining the structural integrity of proteins and regulating gene expression, which makes it necessary for the rapid growth of cells during pregnancy. In fact, the average demand for zinc for a pregnant woman is 9mg per day but more for some women, about 11mg per day at least. You can take in this mineral from lean meat, seafood, milk, wholegrain cereals, legumes, and nuts.

8. Magnesium

Magnesium is very helpful in pregnancy period as a proper magnesium level can aid in the growth of mom’s tissues, recovery from pregnancy, and increase the receipt of nutrition through the placenta. In addition, a severe magnesium deficiency can cause preeclampsia, poor fetal growth, and even fetal death. Although you should get enough magnesium from natural food sources, this is likely difficult, so you can use an ionic supplement or specific magnesium oil on the skin instead. And an advice for you is taking in maximum 500 mg of magnesium per day from all sources if there is no another direction of doctors.

9. Probiotics

Besides various vitamins for pregnancy, probiotics are also beneficial for the health of pregnant women in particular and humans in common. To be clear, they are microorganisms that are considered to bring health benefits when consumed by humans and even animals. During pregnancy period, babies get and maintain beneficial gut bacteria from anything they receive from mothers when they pass through the birth canal beside being nursed in the months later. However, this process cannot happen to cesarean deliveries in the same way and research is trying to find out the ways facilitate this process indeed.

In fact, a suitable consumption of quality probiotics helps ensure your baby to get an adequate dose of good bacteria in the period of a normal vaginal delivery thereby reducing the risks of illness and ear infection and illness during the first few years. Probiotics help the mothers restrict constipation and illness during pregnancy and decrease the risks of group B strep. In addition, the good gut health also gives a tremendous impact on the lifelong health, which is also an important thing you can do for your baby at first. And because baby’s gut bacteria continue culturing during this nursing time, it is advised for mom to take consecutive probiotics during this period.

Read more: Foods high in probiotics

10. Folic Acid

Besides these above vitamins for pregnancy, the body of a pregnant woman needs an acid called folic acid that helps inhibit birth defects, also called neural tube defects. It has been estimated that you should take in 400 micrograms of folic acid every day from the time you intend to get pregnant to the time of 12-week pregnancy. In case you fail to take enough folic acid before being conceived, you should begin taking it in as soon as you become a pregnant woman.

There are some kinds of food such as brown rice and green leafy vegetables that contain natural folate, a natural form of folic acid. In addition, some fat spreads like margarine and some breakfast cereals also contain folic acid. And because you may find it difficult to get an adequate amount of folate that meets the need of pregnant women from fresh food alone, you can take in a folic acid supplement additionally.

11. Folate

Being necessary as other minerals and vitamins for pregnancy, folate is also highly recommended for pregnant women. As mentioned above, it is a specific form of folic acid recommended above but there is some difference between folate, a natural form, and folic acid, a synthetic form. Therefore, the dosage is somehow different and some documents suggest 1200 micrograms of folate a day for the best benefits. However, this amount should contain the amount in multivitamins besides other additional folate supplements. Folate is a supplement that is effective in preventing neural tube defects also inexpensive and easy for pregnant women to take.

12. Coconut Oil

Coconut oil is really a good source of nutrients and vitamins for pregnancy, which makes it appreciated during this period of women. As an advice, you should consume some tablespoons of coconut oil every day and other healthy fats presented in tea and smoothies as a supplement besides cooking with it. The reason is that coconut helps naturally boost the immune system, aid in the development of baby’s brain, and support nursing due to many components of breast milk.

13. Vegetarian And Vegan In Pregnancy

Being aware of how important minerals and vitamins for pregnancy are and how necessary to consume various kinds of food for pregnant women, there are some other cases in which they are vegetarian or vegan who cannot take in some certain foods as recommended. Therefore, they need to have a specific diet that is varied and balanced so that giving enough nutrients for both them and their babies during pregnancy. However, it may be difficult to achieve enough vitamin B12 and iron, so you can talk to your doctor or midwife about how to get enough these important minerals and vitamins for pregnancy.

If you are vegan, it is compulsory to avoid all animal products in your diet or follow a strict diet as a result of food intolerance such as a diet free of gluten for celiac disease. In the case you want to get enough vitamins for pregnancy, you should talk to your GP or midwife or find a dietitian consulting them how to get all the necessary nutrients for you and baby as well.

14. Things To Avoid

In fact, just a deficiency of nutrients including vitamins for pregnancy can be dangerous but you should also be careful when consuming or contacting with other things that can be harmful to your baby indeed. There are something you should avoid such as diet sodas or foods, artificial sweeteners, sugars or sweeteners, chemical additives, any herbs and drugs without any approvals of your midwife and doctor, chemicals in personal care products, laundry detergent, and household cleaners, aluminum in antiperspirants, artificial colors and dyes in food, vegetable oils and trans fats, plastic containers, and high fructose corn syrup.

Recommended article: Top Natural Benefits Of Rhodiola Rosea For Health

After reading the article on typical minerals and vitamins for pregnancy conception in our main Health page, hope that you can know what kinds of vitamins as well as other substances are good for the health of pregnant women and their babies. Please let us know if you have any question by leaving them below and share with us other vitamins for pregnancy if you really get.

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