Vitamins and other nutrients during pregnancy
What are prenatal vitamins?
Prenatal vitamins are multivitamins made just for pregnant women. Compared to a regular multivitamin, they have more of some nutrients that you need during pregnancy. Your health care provider may prescribe a prenatal vitamin for you at your first prenatal care checkup. Or you can buy them over the counter without a prescription. Take a prenatal vitamin every day during pregnancy. If you're planning to get pregnant, you can start taking prenatal vitamins before you get pregnant.
Your body uses vitamins, minerals and other nutrients in food to help it stay strong and healthy. During pregnancy, your growing baby gets all the nutrients she needs from you. So you may need more during pregnancy than you did before. If you’re pregnant with multiples (twins, triplets or more), you may need more nutrients than if you’re pregnant with one baby. Your prenatal vitamin contains the right amount of nutrients you need during pregnancy.
If you’re a vegetarian, you have food allergies or you can’t eat certain foods, your provider may want you to take a supplement to help you get more of certain nutrients. A supplement is a product you take to make up for certain nutrients that you don’t get enough of in foods you eat. For example, your provider may recommend that you take a vitamin supplement to help you get more vitamin D, iron or calcium.
Which nutrients are most important during pregnancy?
All nutrients are important, but these six play a key role in your baby’s growth and development during pregnancy:
- Folic acid
- Iron
- Calcium
- Vitamin D
- DHA
- Iodine
What is folic acid?
Folic acid is a B vitamin that every cell in your body needs for healthy growth and development. Taking folic acid before and during early pregnancy can help prevent birth defects of the brain and spine called neural tube defects (also called NTDs). Some studies show that taking folic acid may help prevent heart defects and birth defects in your baby’s mouth called cleft lip and palate.
To help prevent NTDS, take a vitamin supplement with 400 mcg of folic acid in it every day at least 1 month before pregnancy through the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Take a vitamin supplement with 400 mcg of folic acid each day, even if you're not trying to get pregnant.
During pregnancy, take a prenatal vitamin each day that has 600 micrograms of folic acid in it. Folic acid only works to prevent NTDs before and during the first few weeks of pregnancy. Later in pregnancy, you need 600 mcg of folic acid each day to help your baby grow and develop.
If you’re at high risk for having a baby with an NTD, take 4,000 mcg of folic acid each day to help prevent an NTD. Start taking 4,000 mcg 3 months before you get pregnant through 12 weeks of pregnancy. Ask your provider how to safely get this much folic acid. It’s not safe to take several multivitamins or prenatal vitamins because you can get too much of other nutrients, which may be harmful to your health. Your provider can help you figure out the best and safest way for you to get the right amount of folic acid.
You’re at high risk for NTDs if:
- You’ve had a pregnancy with an NTD in the past.
- You or your partner has an NTD.
- Your partner has a child with an NTD.
You also can get folic acid from food. Some foods have folic acid added to them. Look for “fortified” or “enriched” on the package and check the "supplement facts" label to see how much folic acid you get in each serving.
Foods that are fortified with folic acid include:
- Bread
- Breakfast cereal
- Cornmeal
- Flour
- Pasta
- Products made from a kind of flour called corn masa, like tortillas, tortilla chips, taco shells, tamales and pupusas
- White rice
You also can get folic acid from some fruits and vegetables. When folic acid is naturally in a food, it’s called folate.
Good sources of folate include:
- Leafy green vegetables, like spinach and broccoli
- Lentils and beans
- Orange juice
What is iron?
Iron is a mineral. Your body uses iron to make hemoglobin, a protein that helps carry oxygen from your lungs to the rest of your body. You need twice as much iron during pregnancy than you did before pregnancy. When you’re pregnant, your body needs this iron to make more blood so it can carry oxygen to your baby. Your baby needs iron to make his own blood.
During pregnancy you need 27 milligrams of iron each day. Most prenatal vitamins have this amount. You also can get iron from food.
Good sources of iron include:
- Lean meat, poultry and seafood
- Cereal, bread and pasta that has iron added to it (check the package label)
- Leafy green vegetables
- Beans, nuts, raisins and dried fruit
There are two kinds of iron. You get heme iron from meat, poultry and fish. You get non-heme iron from plant-based foods, like beans, fruits, vegetables and nuts, or foods made from plants, like cereal. Your body absorbs more non-heme iron when you eat fruits and veggies together with meat, poultry and fish or with food that is high in vitamin C. Foods with a lot of vitamin C include grapefruit, mango, papaya, cantaloupe, tomatoes, cabbage, spinach and broccoli.
If you don’t get enough iron during pregnancy.
you may be more likely to:
- Get infections
- Have anemia. This means you have too little iron in your blood.
- Be fatigued. This means you feel really tired or exhausted.
- Have a premature baby. This means your baby is born too soon, before 37 weeks of pregnancy.
- Have a low-birthweight baby. This means your baby is born weighing less than 5 pounds, 8 ounces.
What is calcium?
Calcium is a mineral that helps your baby’s bones, teeth, heart, muscles and nerves develop. During pregnancy, you need 1,000 milligrams of calcium each day. You can get this amount by taking your prenatal vitamin and eating food that has a lot of calcium in it. Good sources of calcium include:
- Milk, cheese and yogurt
- Broccoli and kale
- Orange juice that has calcium added to it (check the package label)
If you don’t get enough calcium during pregnancy, your body takes it from your bones and gives it to your baby. This can cause health conditions, like osteoporosis, later in life. In this condition, your bones become thin and break easily.
What is vitamin D?
Vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium. It also helps your body’s nerves, muscles and immune system work. Your immune system protects your body from infection. Your baby needs vitamin D to help his bones and teeth grow.
During pregnancy, you need 600 IU (international units) of vitamin D each day. You can get this amount from food or your prenatal vitamin. Good sources of vitamin D include:
- Fatty fish, like salmon
- Milk and cereal that has vitamin D added to it (check the package label)
Your body also makes vitamin D when your skin comes in contact with sunlight. But too much sun can lead to skin aging and cancer, so it’s a good idea to get your vitamin D from food or your prenatal vitamin.
What is DHA?
DHA stands for docosahexaenoic acid. It’s a kind of fat (called omega-3 fatty acid) that helps with growth and development. During pregnancy, you need 200 milligrams of DHA each day to help your baby’s brain and eyes develop. Not all prenatal vitamins contain DHA, so ask your provider if you need to take a DHA supplement. You also can eat foods that have DHA in them. Good sources of DHA include:
- Fish that are low in mercury, like herring, salmon, trout, anchovies and halibut. During pregnancy, eat 8 to 12 ounces of these kinds of fish each week.
- Orange juice, milk and eggs that have DHA added to them (check the package label)
What is iodine?
Iodine is a mineral your body needs to make thyroid hormones. The thyroid is a gland in your neck that makes hormones that help your body use and store energy from food. You need iodine during pregnancy to help your baby’s brain and nervous system develop. The nervous system (brain, spinal cord and nerves) helps your baby move, think and feel.
During pregnancy, you need 220 micrograms of iodine every day. Not all prenatal vitamins contain iodine, so make sure you eat foods that have iodine in them. Ask your provider if you need to take an iodine supplement.
Good sources of iodine include:
- Fish
- Milk, cheese and yogurt
- Enriched or fortified cereal and bread (check the package label)
- Iodized salt (salt with iodine added to it; check the package label)
