5 Incredible Vitamins For Pregnant Women
Before and during pregnancy, keeping a healthy living is very essential, as maternal nutrition plays an important role in the growth of an infant.
Pregnancy is a period where women experience drastic changes not just in the energy requirements, but vitamins as well, so as to sustain both herself and the developing feotus.
This period, any deficiency in a particular vitamins may affect the child’s full development [1] .
Vitamin plays a pivotal role in the development of infant, reducing neural tube defects, mental impairments to name but a few.
Participating in synthesis of DNA and new cells formation makes vitamin a most for pregnant women.
During the early stage of pregnancy, some vitamins are highly required while others are also needed throughout the period of 9 months.
However, consuming substantial amount of vitamins will significantly decrease harmful effect of vitamin’s deficiency in pregnancy.
Here are the 5 Top Vitamins For Pregnant women
1. Folate
Folate is greatly needed in the synthesis of deoxyxibonucleic acid (DNA) with the help of vitamin B6 for rapidly growing cells. That’s to say, deficiency of folate may impairs cell division.
Consuming up to 0.4 milligrams per day of folate food help keep you away from symptoms linked to its deficiency. Such as anemia, neural tube defects.
Neural tube defects- leads to malformations of the brain, spinal cord, or both during embryonic development.
Similarly, the brain and spinal cord develop from neural tube, and defects in its orderly formation during the early weeks of pregnancy may result in various central nervous system disorder and death.
To prevent neural tube defects, folate supplements one month before conception and through out the first trimester of pregnancy is advised. Rich source of folate are legumes, green leafy vegetables, liver.
2. Vitamin B12
Vitamin B12 plays an important role in converting folate in it bound state to active form which in turn aid synthesis of DNA.
DNA is found in the cells; it promotes cell division and growths. It also Participate in nerves cells, bone cells activity as well as amino acids metabolism.
Deficiency of vitamin B12 has been associated with low activation of folate which promote cell division. Additionally, you develop pernicious anemia if you lack Vitamin B12.
Incorporating vitamin B12 rich-food will significantly decrease diseases attributed to vitamin B12.
You can obtain vitamin B12 when you consume food including beef, sardine, tuna, animal liver, kidney, eggs, dairy products and green leafy vegetables. Recommended daily allowance is 2.6 micrograms per day.
3. Vitamin C
Vitamin C is another Vitamin that serves numerous functions, ranging from prevention of oxidative stress, aiding in iron absorption, and immune booster. Deficiency of vitamin C is linked to anemia, scurvy, among others.
Just consume the recommended amount of vitamin C of 120 milligrams per day to be out of it deficiency.
Foods like Citrus fruits, Cabbage, dark green vegetables, Cantaloupe, strawberries, lettuce, tomatoes, potatoes, Papaya, mangoes are excellent source of vitamin C.
4. Vitamin A
Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin which contributes profoundly in immune system of a pregnant woman.
Apart from helping in reproduction, Vision, skin maintenance, it enhance bone and tooth growth of the growing foetus.
Vitamin A is found in food like fortified milk, cheese, cream, egg, liver, recommended daily allowance is 3000 micrograms per day.
5. Niacin
This is a coenzyme, it involves in many bodily functions. In the biochemical reactions, niacin assist in energy metabolism.
You may experience symptoms such as vomiting, abdominal pain, depression, diarrhoea, loss of memory when you lack Niacin.
Rich source of niacin are Milk, Eggs, Poultry, fish, whole- grains, cereals, nut. Deficiency incl: vomiting, abdominal pain, and fatigue
6. Vitamin B6
As stated earlier, vitamins are seriously required to keep the maternal nutrition and the developing feotus healthy; vitamin B6 is one of the nutrients our body uses to make red blood cells, foster amino acids, and fatty acids metabolism.
Studies have indicated that lack of Vitamin B6 predisposes pregnant women to anemia, depression and appetite.
It is also believed that very low blood levels of vitamin B6 impede production of serotonin – a neurotransmitters important in appetite control, and sleep regulation.
Source include; Beef liver, fortified cereals, salmon, carrot, Spinach, sweet potatoes, banana green peas.
Recommended daily allowance is 100 milligrams per day.
7. Vitamin D
It is a fat-soluble vitamin that helps raise blood calcium and phosphorus by increasing absorption from digestive system.
Calcium is a mineral known for bone building. This helps prevent symptoms like bowed legs, and beaded ribs in children.
However, if a pregnant woman is deficient of Vitamin D and calcium, there’s every likelihood of the child having these abnormalities.
Sources, of vitamin D are fortified milk, Margarine, butter, cereals, chocolate, beef, egg yolk, liver, salmon, sardine.
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Conclusion
Pregnancy stage is a very sensitive period in human life; it is characterized with a lot of changes that prompt adequate intake of nutrients to sustain both herself and the developing feotus.
A generous amount of vitamins are throughout the pregnancy period such as vitamin A, D, B6, among others.
Although, source of vitamin are found in both animals and plants.
5 Incredible Vitamins For Pregnant Women
