Pregnancy week by week
by Admin
Posted on 07-07-2022 10:16 AM
Pregnancy week by week
Eating a healthy, varied diet in pregnancy will help you get most of the vitamins and minerals you need. But when you're pregnant, or there's a chance you might get pregnant, it’s important to also take a folic acid supplement. It's recommended that you take:
400 micrograms of folic acid every day – from before you're pregnant until you're 12 weeks pregnant
this is to reduce the risk of problems in the baby's development in the
ear
ly weeks of pregnancy. It is also recommended that you take a daily vitamin d supplement.
Do not take cod liver oil or any supplements containing vitamin a (retinol) when you're pregnant.
If getting pregnant is a possibility for you, you should take folic acid. It can prevent birth defects that affect the baby’s brain and spinal cord. Neural tube defects develop early in pregnancy, before many women know they’re pregnant; half of all pregnancies are unplanned. This is why doctors recommend that any woman who could get pregnant take 400 micrograms (mcg) of folic acid daily, starting before conception and continuing for the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. If you’ve had a baby with a neural tube defect you should talk with your health care provider about folic acid. Studies have shown that taking a larger dose (up to 4,000 micrograms) at least one month before and during the first trimester may help if you’ve had a baby with this defect.
It’s recommended that you take pregnancy multivitamins for the first 12 weeks of your pregnancy, otherwise known as the first trimester, as this is when key development and growth occurs, but many women choose to continue taking them throughout their entire pregnancy. This can be especially beneficial if – due to morning sickness or food aversions – you’re struggling to achieve a balanced healthy diet via meals and snacks. According to tommy's , 1 in 3 women who try for a baby become pregnant within the first month, so it can be helpful to start taking prenatal vitamins before you conceive, if possible, especially because it can take a while to build up key nutrients in the body, such as folic acid.
Take a prenatal vitamin every day as soon as you realize you're pregnant. Because folic acid is so important in the earliest weeks of your pregnancy, ideally you would start taking prenatal vitamins before you conceive – that's why many doctors recommend them for women who might become pregnant. And if you breastfeed your baby, your doctor might recommend you continue taking prenatal vitamins even after your baby is born.
Prenatal vitamins: Why they matter, how to choose
If you have pregnancy complications or other health concerns, your doctor might recommend a prescription prenatal supplement. Otherwise, you can find over-the-counter supplements at your local pharmacy or online.
While many products are available, you’ll want to choose a prenatal supplement that includes all the vitamins and minerals needed to support a healthy pregnancy.
With so many prenatal vitamins out there, it can be difficult to know which ones to choose to see you through your pregnancy journey. Do you need just one or more than one? when’s the best time to take them and what do they do exactly? here, we explain all you need to know about prenatal vitamins. We also share our top prenatal vitamin picks, which have also been tried-and-tested and highly recommended by many of our customers!.