Nutrition during pregnancy

Vitamins and minerals play important roles in all of your body functions. Eating healthy foods and taking a prenatal vitamin every day should supply all the vitamins and minerals you need during pregnancy.

Pre-natal vitamins

Take only one serving of your prenatal supplement each day. Read the bottle to see how many pills make up one daily serving. If your ob-gyn thinks you need an extra amount of a vitamin or mineral, your ob-gyn may recommend it as a separate supplement.

Do not take more than the recommended amount of your prenatal vitamin per day. Some multivitamin ingredients, such as vitamin A, can cause birth defects at higher doses.

Our recommended pre-natal multivitamin: ONE A DAY Women’s prenatal advanced complete multivitamin with brain support

Key vitamins and minerals you need during pregnancy

During pregnancy you need folic acid, iron, calcium, vitamin D, choline, omega-3 fatty acids, B vitamins, and vitamin C.

Calcium

Calcium is a mineral that builds your fetus’s bones and teeth. If you are 18 or younger, you need 1,300 mg of calcium per day. If you are 19 or older, you need 1,000 mg per day.

Milk and other dairy products, such as cheese and yogurt, are the best sources of calcium. If you have trouble digesting milk products, you can get calcium from other sources, such as broccoli, fortified foods (cereals, breads, and juices), almonds and sesame seeds, sardines or anchovies with the bones, and dark green leafy vegetables. You can also get calcium from calcium supplements.

• Recommended amount: 1,300 milligrams for ages 14 to 18; 1,000 milligrams for ages 19 to 50
• Why you need and the fetus need it? Builds strong bones and teeth
• Food sources: Milk, cheese, yogurt, sardines, dark green leafy vegetables

Iron

Iron is used by your body to make the extra blood that you and your fetus need during pregnancy. When you are not pregnant, you need 18 mg of iron per day. When you are pregnant, you need 27 mg per day. You can get this amount in most prenatal vitamins.

In addition to taking a prenatal vitamin with iron, you should eat iron-rich foods such as beans, lentils, enriched breakfast cereals, beef, turkey, liver, and shrimp. You should also eat foods that help your body absorb iron, including oranges, grapefruit, strawberries, broccoli, and peppers.

Your blood should be tested during pregnancy to check for anemia. If you have anemia, your ob-gyn may recommend extra iron supplements.

• Recommended amount: 1,300 milligrams for ages 14 to 18; 1,000 milligrams for ages 19 to 50
• Why you need and the fetus need it? Helps red blood cells deliver oxygen to your fetus
• Food sources: Lean red meat, poultry, fish, dried beans and peas, iron-fortified cereals, prune juice

Iodine

• Recommended amount: 220 micrograms
• Why you need and the fetus need it? Essential for healthy brain development
• Food sources: Iodized table salt, dairy products, seafood, meat, some breads, eggs

Choline

Choline plays a role in your fetus’s brain development. It may also help prevent some common birth defects. Experts recommend that you get 450 mg of choline each day during pregnancy.

Choline can be found in chicken, beef, eggs, milk, soy products, and peanuts. Although the body produces some choline on its own, it doesn’t make enough to meet all your needs while you are pregnant. It’s important to get choline from your diet because it is not found in most prenatal vitamins.

• Recommended amount: 450 milligrams
• Why you need and the fetus need it? Important for development of your fetus’s brain and spinal cord
• Food sources: Milk, beef liver, eggs, peanuts, soy products

Vitamin A

• Recommended amount: 750 micrograms for ages 14 to 18; 770 micrograms for ages 19 to 50
• Why you need and the fetus need it? Forms healthy skin and eyesight. Also helps with bone growth
• Food sources: Carrots, green leafy vegetables, sweet potatoes

Vitamin C

You can get the right amount of vitamin C in your daily prenatal vitamin

• Recommended amount: 80 milligrams for ages 14 to 18; 85 milligrams for ages 19 to 50
• Why you need and the fetus need it? Important for a healthy immune system. Promotes healthy gums, teeth, and bones
• Food sources: Citrus fruit, broccoli, tomatoes, strawberries

Vitamin D

Vitamin D works with calcium to help the fetus’s bones and teeth develop. Vitamin D is also essential for healthy skin and eyesight. Whether you are pregnant or not, you need 600 international units of vitamin D a day.

Many people do not get enough vitamin D. If your ob-gyn thinks you may have low levels of vitamin D, a test can be done to check the level in your blood. If it is below normal, you may need to take a vitamin D supplement.

Good sources of vitamin D include fortified milk and breakfast cereal, fatty fish (salmon and mackerel), fish liver oils, and egg yolks.

• Recommended amount: 600 international units
• Why you need and the fetus need it? Builds your fetus’s bones and teeth. Also helps promote healthy eyesight and skin
• Food sources: Sunlight, fortified milk, fatty fish such as salmon and sardines

Vitamin B6

Your prenatal vitamin should have the right amount of B vitamins that you need each day. Eating foods high in B vitamins is a good idea too, including liver, pork, chicken, bananas, beans, and whole-grain cereals and breads.

• Recommended amount: 1.9 milligrams
• Why you need and the fetus need it? Helps form red blood cells and helps the body use protein, fat, and carbohydrates
• Food sources: Beef, liver, pork, ham, whole-grain cereals, bananas

Vitamin B12

Your prenatal vitamin should have the right amount of B vitamins that you need each day. Eating foods high in B vitamins is a good idea too, including liver, pork, chicken, bananas, beans, and whole-grain cereals and breads.

• Recommended amount: 2.6 micrograms
• Why you need and the fetus need it? Maintains nervous system and helps form red blood cells
• Food sources: Meat, fish, poultry, milk (vegetarians should take a supplement)

Folic acid

Folic acid, also known as folate, is a B vitamin that is important during pregnancy. Folic acid may help prevent major birth defects of the fetus’s brain and spine called neural tube defects (NTDs).

When you are pregnant you need 600 micrograms of folic acid each day. Because it’s hard to get this much folic acid from food alone, you should take a daily prenatal vitamin with at least 400 micrograms starting at least 1 month before pregnancy and during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

• Recommended amount: 600 micrograms
• Why you need and the fetus need it? Helps prevent birth defects of the brain and spine called neural tube defects (NTDs). Also supports the general growth and development of the fetus and placenta
• Food sources: Fortified cereal, enriched bread and pasta, peanuts, dark green leafy vegetables, orange juice, beans. Also, take a daily prenatal vitamin with 400 micrograms of folic acid.

Omega-3 fatty acids

Omega-3 fatty acids are a type of fat found naturally in many kinds of fish.

Eat two or three servings of fish or shellfish per week before getting pregnant, while pregnant, and while breastfeeding. A serving of fish is 4 ounces (oz).

Some types of fish have higher levels of mercury than others. Mercury is a metal that has been linked to birth defects. Do not eat bigeye tuna, king mackerel, marlin, orange roughy, shark, swordfish, or tilefish. Limit white (albacore) tuna to only 6 oz a week. Also check advisories about fish caught in local waters.

• Recommended amount: 8 ounces (oz)
• Why you need and the fetus need it? may be important for brain development before and after birth.
• Food sources: Fish, flaxseed (ground or as oil), broccoli, cantaloupe, kidney beans, spinach, cauliflower, and walnuts.

Source: The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists