Vitamins And Minerals During Pregnancy

Vitamins and minerals are important for good nutrition. Eating a nutritious, varied diet helps ensure you get all the vitamins and minerals you need. Your doctor may ask you to take a prenatal vitamin every day. Vegetarians may need to pay special attention to getting enough of some vitamins and minerals.

Iron Supplementation
Iron is one of the most important elements for your body; women need more iron than men because of menstruation. However, most women do not get enough iron in their diet. Research has shown that between the ages of 20 and 50, American women consume only about two-thirds (10 mg/day) of the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) of iron (15 mg/day). The average woman's diet seldom contains enough iron to meet the increased demands of pregnancy (30 mg/day).

Your iron needs are higher during pregnancy because your blood volume increases by 50% to support the oxygen needs of your baby and the placenta. In the 3rd trimester, your need for iron increases even more. Your baby draws on your stores to create its own stores for the first few months of its life.

You will also need adequate iron reserves to draw on during your baby's birth. The uterus's oxygen requirements increase with labor contractions, and you will lose some blood during a normal delivery.

If you have an iron deficiency, you feel tired, have trouble concentrating, get sick easily or suffer from headaches, dizziness or indigestion. An easy way to check for iron deficiency is to examine the inside of your bottom eyelid-it should be dark pink. Or look at your nail beds; if you're getting enough iron, they will be pink.

A healthy woman absorbs only 10 to 15% of the iron she consumes. To ensure you have enough iron in your diet, eat a variety of iron-rich foods, such as the following:

•    chicken
•    lean red meat
•    dried fruits
•    organ meats, such as liver, heart and kidneys
•    egg yolks
•    spinach
•    kale
•    tofu

Your body stores iron efficiently, so you don't need to eat these foods every day. However, you do need to eat them on a regular basis. Eat vitamin-C foods and iron-rich foods together because the body absorbs iron more easily when consumed with vitamin C. (A spinach salad with orange sections is a nutritious example.)

Prenatal vitamins contain about 60 mg of iron. You may not need extra iron if you eat a healthful diet and take your prenatal vitamins every day. Discuss it with your doctor.
The iron you ingest can cause constipation. Work with your doctor to minimize this side effect while making sure you get enough iron.

Vegetarians and others who eat very little meat are at greater risk of iron deficiency during pregnancy. If you are a vegetarian, pay close attention to this aspect of your diet. Fish, poultry and tofu are all excellent iron sources. Most legumes and peas also contain sig nificant amounts of the mineral. Many breakfast foods and breads are now iron fortified.

Dried fruit and dark leafy vegetables are good sources of iron.
Cook in cast-iron pans because traces of iron will attach to whatever you're cooking. If you are a lacto or ovo-lacto vegetarian, do not drink milk with foods that are iron rich; calcium reduces iron absorption. Don't drink tea or coffee with meals because tannins present in those beverages inhibit iron absorption by 75%.