Eating a varied and balanced diet will help you get all of the essential vitamins and minerals needed for a healthy and happy pregnancy. But, in addition to getting your 5 a day taking pregnancy supplements can help make sure that you and baby are getting all of the nourishment you need during the 9-month stre-e-tch.
Read on to discover more about the pregnancy supplements to take and why you should be taking them before and during your pregnancy...What Are Pregnancy Supplements?
Pregnancy supplements contain all of the minerals and nutrients needed to keep you and baby nourished during pregnancy. Your midwife or doctor might suggest that you start taking them as soon as you start trying for a baby as well as throughout your entire pregnancy journey.
What Supplements Should I Take Before Pregnancy?
Are you ready to start a family, mama? In addition to cutting out alcohol and stopping smoking, it is recommended by the NHS that when trying to conceive you should be taking 400 micrograms of folic acid every day as soon as you start trying for a baby all the way up until you're 12 weeks pregnant when your baby's spine is developing.
Folic acid is very important during pregnancy and it helps prevent neural tube defects including spina bifida which can happen if your baby's spinal cord does not form properly. Don't worry mama! If you didn't start taking folic acid before getting pregnant, just start taking them as soon as you find out you're expecting your little one.
What Supplements Should I Be Taking During Pregnancy?
As well as taking folic acid up until your 12th week of pregnancy, it is advised that mama's take an additional vitamin D supplement. Vitamin D helps to regulate levels of calcium and phosphate in the body which are essential in keeping your teeth, bones and muscles healthy.
Our bodies make vitamin D during the Summer months when our skin is more exposed to sunlight (late March until the end of September). So it is advised by the NHS that all pregnant and breastfeeding women should be taking 10 micrograms of vitamin D each day from September until March.
Another essential vitamin that you should be supplementing throughout your pregnancy is vitamin C. As humans, we aren't able to store vitamin C in our bodies so it is important to make sure that we are getting enough of this immune-boosting nutrient within our diet. Vitamin C helps protect and keep our cells healthy and pregnant women should be getting between 80mg-85mg per day. Good sources of foods rich in vitamin C include broccoli, oranges, strawberries and even potatoes! Who said you had to give up carbs to be healthy?
NEW Mama Mio Pregnancy Gummies
Created in partnership with MYVITAMINS, our NEW chewable pregnancy gummies have been designed to help support you when trying to conceive, all the way through to bump! A delicious, sweet berry flavoured and vegan-friendly gummy, packed with 8 essential pregnancy vitamins and minerals including folic acid to increase maternal folate status and vitamins C and D3* for normal immune function. All formulated into a tasty gummy, these are the perfect daily dose to give your little one the best start in life!
*Recommended by the UK Department of Health to be supplemented when pregnant.
Want to know more about folic acid and why you should be taking it before and during your pregnancy? Read everything you need to know about this essential vitamin here.
