Here are Seven Good Reasons to Take Prenatal Vitamins
Your doctor will no doubt tell you that taking prenatal vitamins can help you have a happier pregnancy and a healthier baby.
The most important reasons to take them are :
Reason 1 - Conceive and Give birth to a healthy baby.
Are you trying to conceive? Fertility can be helped by proper nutrition. Your body knows if you are healthy and ready to bear a child or not. Take your vitamins.
Depending on the type of prenatal vitamins you’re taking, these can increase the chances of you having a healthier baby later on. Folic acid is one of the most important components of prenatal vitamins, and countless studies have already conclusively proven its benefits for the unborn child. By taking prenatal vitamins that contain the required amount of folic acid, you can lower risk for your baby having birth defect on either his spine or brain.
Prenatal vitamins with extra supply of calcium help mothers retain their bone density even while providing some for their unborn child. Prenatal vitamins with extra iron on the other hand help facilitate the respiratory functions for both mother and unborn child.
And in an issue of the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of Canada, a study has shown that daily intake of prenatal vitamins could lead to reduced risks for unborn babies having cardiovascular and urinary-tract defects, limb deformities, and hydrocephalus.
Reason 2 - Help avoid too many food cravings and weight gain.
Obviously, your unborn child won’t be able to eat by itself. For the nine months that it will have to stay and develop within your womb, it will have to rely on you to give it the nutrients you need. There are however mothers that get cravings to consume large amounts of food to supply the nutrients. If this is true in your case, take prenatal vitamins to help supply the needed nutrients for your baby. That way your cravings may be less and you may not gain as much extra weight.
Reason 3 - These supplements might help lessen morning sickness.
Several studies have put forward suggestions that occurrence and frequency of morning sickness can be lessened if women are able to take prenatal vitamins even while they’re just planning or attempting to conceive a child.
Reason 4 - If there is a small time between your previous pregnancy and this current one.
There’s nothing gravely wrong about having closely spaced pregnancies, but when you do have them, be prepared to face the consequences. And one of the greatest concerns for women in this condition is that their bodies haven’t yet recovered fully to provide the nutrients needed for their next child. If so, prenatal vitamins can help shoulder the burden.
Prenatal vitamins can give your next child the nutrients it needs while your body is busy healing itself and recovering from its latest “ordeal�. It can also give you added strength when it times to deliver a child once more.
Reason 5 - If you have any existing health challenges or you don't eat all the recommended servings of fruits and vegetables.
Let's be honest here. Did you eat 5 servings of fruits and 5 servings of vegetables today? How about yesterday? How about all this month? Okay, me neither. So I take vitamins. I think everybody should. And all doctors always advise pregnant women to take prenatal vitamins.
Also, certain medical conditions prevent women from being able to completely nourish their unborn child, and that’s when they need to take prenatal vitamins to fill in the gap. Sickle cell anemia, for instance, makes a person need additional supply of folic acid, and this can of course be found in prenatal vitamins.
Reason 6 - If you are expecting twins, it is twice as important to take prenatal vitamins.
It’s hard enough for many to take care of one born child, but what more if you learn that you’re going to give birth to twins, triplets, or more? If this is true in your case, you definitely need some extra help in the form of prenatal vitamins. With prenatal vitamins, you can be sure that babies #1, 2, and 3 are all healthy inside you.
Reason 7 - Follow your doctor's advice and take prenatal vitamins unless you can give the doctor a very good reason not to.
You might be confident that you’re doing everything you can for your unborn baby, but if so, why are you unwilling to take prenatal vitamins? If there’s no medical reason to prevent you from doing so then take them. Think of it as added insurance policy to deliver a happy and healthy baby. Don't risk a birth defect. Follow doctors orders.
by Monica Nelson
