Pregnancy Nutrition » Pregnancy Nutrition http://www.pregnancynutrition.org Complete Guide to Pregnancy, your diet and nutrtiion guide and Its Related Complications and Problems Mon, 22 Aug 2011 08:44:56 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Nutritional Supplements for Pregnant Women http://www.pregnancynutrition.org/pregnancy-nutrition/nutritional-supplements-for-pregnant-women http://www.pregnancynutrition.org/pregnancy-nutrition/nutritional-supplements-for-pregnant-women#comments Mon, 10 Sep 2007 10:04:19 +0000 john http://www.pregnancynutrition.org/pregnancy-nutrition/nutritional-supplements-for-pregnant-women Continue reading →]]> Nutritional supplements have become a fixed feature of prenatal care in the United States. In its 1990 report, the Institute of Medicine concluded that, except for iron, all nutritional needs of most pregnant women can be met through diet. Since that report, scientists have discovered the importance of folic acid in preventing neural tube defects and a folic acid supplement is now advised.Women in nutritional risk groups may benefit from supplementation. These include women with poor diets or women suffering from substance abuse.

Many midwives and physicians routinely recommend a prenatal supplement for all pregnant women. If you either take an over-the-counter prenatal vitamin or are prescribed a prenatal vitamin, read the label before you take any of the individual supplements discussed in the following sections to make sure you don’t get too much of a particular supplement. If you are unsure, discuss supplementation with your physician or midwife.

Magnesium

Low magnesium levels have been associated with leg cramps, a common complaint in late pregnancy. For women who have leg cramps, increased magnesium may be helpful. Nuts, soybeans, wheat germ, wheat bran, and green vegetables are good sources of magnesium. You could also try a magnesium supplement of 100-250 mg daily. Be careful with magnesium supplementation if you are anemic as it may reduce the absorption of iron. Research is currently under way to determine whether there is a role of magnesium, or of the balance among magnesium, calcium, and phosphorus, in preeclampsia or preterm labor and whether or not these disorders can be prevented nutritionally.

Nutritional Supplements for Pregnant Women

Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine)

Supplementation with vitamin B6 is not needed in pregnancy, but may have a role in the relief of nausea and vomiting. Supplements of 25 mg taken every 8 hours were found to benefit women with severe nausea and vomiting in at least one study. They did not help women with milder forms of nausea and vomiting.

Zinc

Zinc deficiency has been associated with birth defects in animals, and possibly in humans. Zinc deficiency also has been associated with low birth weight. Studies in which pregnant women were provided with zinc supplements have shown inconsistent benefits, however. To date, zinc supplements are not advised. Foods highest in zinc include seafood, meats, eggs, corn, beets, and peas. Foods with moderate zinc content include carrots and whole wheat bread. Zinc-rich foods should be included in the diet of every pregnant woman. Zinc supplementation may be recommended when high doses of iron are prescribed as the extra iron decreases zinc absorption. The recommended amount during pregnancy is 15 mg.

]]> http://www.pregnancynutrition.org/pregnancy-nutrition/nutritional-supplements-for-pregnant-women/feed 0 Nutrition During Pregnancy http://www.pregnancynutrition.org/pregnancy-nutrition/nutrition-during-pregnancy http://www.pregnancynutrition.org/pregnancy-nutrition/nutrition-during-pregnancy#comments Tue, 04 Sep 2007 11:13:07 +0000 john http://www.pregnancynutrition.org/pregnancy-nutrition/nutrition-during-pregnancy Continue reading →]]> We don’t know all the ways a fetus may be affected by what its mother eats. We do know, from studies of babies born during famine in world war II, that adequate nutrition, or at least an adequate number of daily calories, is important for the fetus to grow to an optimal size. In early pregnancy, severe nutritional deficiencies may have an adverse effect on development and even survival of the embryo. In late pregnancy, severe deficiencies may inhibit fetal growth. The fetus is somewhat protected, however, against less severe nutritional inadequacies in the mother’s diet, so that infants whose prenatal nutrition has been suboptimal grow and develop without apparent detriment.In the united states today, most pregnant women eat well enough so that most babies are notNutrition During Pregnancy harmed by the eating habits of their mothers. Nor is the mother robbed of most nutrients. She does not suffer tooth at bone loss or most other deficiencies. Whether there are subtle effects of minor nutritional deficits on the developing fetus or on the pregnancy is not known.

Still, eating well is one way to provide the best environment for your developing child.

When we think of optimal nutrition in pregnancy, several questions come to mind -

  1. How much weight should a pregnant woman gain? How much should she gain in each week of pregnancy?
  2. What foods are most healthful to eat in pregnancy and how much of these should a pregnant woman eat?
  3. Should a pregnant woman take nutritional supplements and, if so, what supplements should she take? At what doses?

Additional questions relate to the special needs of certain groups of women -

  • adolescent women
  • underweight and overweight women
  • women at risk for low birth weight babies
  • women on restricted diets, by need or choice, including women with eating disorders.

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