What Are the Benefits of Prenatal Vitamins?
Prevent Major Birth Defects
Getting enough folic acid before and during pregnancy helps prevent your baby from major of the brain or spine. Unfortunately, brain and spine birth defects occur during the first critical weeks of pregnancy before many women even know they are pregnant. That is why women who are considering becoming pregnant should begin taking supplements right away. Although scientists do not know exactly why folic acid prevents birth defects, they do know that it is necessary to build healthy new cells for baby. One in every 33 babies in the United States is a birth defect and birth defects cause one out of every five deaths of infants making them the primary cause of infant deaths.
Prevent Ilness
The calcium in prenatal vitamins can prevent loss of bone density during pregnancy as well as provide the growing baby with calcium needed for bone growth. The iron supplement in prenatal vitamins consumed during pregnancy can reduce an infant's risk of anemia, but that is not all. When mom has a deficiency of iron she may miscarry unexpectedly, deliver her baby prematurely, or worse yet, not alive. Babies may be born with a low birth weight when mothers have an iron deficiency. Women who live on low incomes or have multiple births are more likely to have an iron deficiency. Iron deficiency can cause a person to feel tired, weak, and short of breath. It can also increase your risk of getting sick, infections, and headaches. In extreme cases a pregnant woman's heart, liver, and spleen may enlarge causing danger to her health and her unborn child.
Have a Healthier Better Adjusted Child
People including children who have mineral deficiency are more likely to have PICA. PICA is a condition that causes them to consume items that are not food and that can cause many health problems. Extra iron in mom's blood stream increases the oxygen carried to her unborn child. Whereas mineral deficiencies have been blamed for delays in psychomotor development, impaired growth, cognitive deficiencies, attention span deficiencies, as well as behavior problems in children.
Are There Problems With Taking Prenatal Vitamins
Prenatal vitamins cause nausea or queasy feelings in some women after they take them and may contribute to constipation problems. Nausea problems may be resolved by taking your vitamins with a snack, before going to bed, or sucking on a piece of candy immediately after taking them. Constipation can be alleviated by drinking more water, adding fiber to your diet, or increasing your daily exercise. Of course, be sure to discuss these options with your doctor.
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