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Get Your Vitamins, Baby New studies show that taking vitamins before and after pregnancy could have positive impacts on miscarriage- and C-section rates 
In the rush to buy that crib, throw that baby shower and stock up on diapers, pregnant women should make sure they look for something else: vitamins. While doctors have long known that some vitamins may help reduce some birth defects, recent studies indicate that vitamins may also help lower their risk of miscarriages and Caesarean section. In June, researchers at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill reported that taking vitamins before and during early pregnancy is associated with reduced risk for miscarriage, although the connection may be related to the healthy lifestyles of vitamin takers, prompting the need for further research. And last December, researchers from Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center reported that pregnant women who are vitamin D deficient are also at an increased risk for delivering a baby by Caesarean section. The studies reinforce the recommendations of health experts, who say vitamins are important to remember as part of a healthy diet during pregnancy. "Getting the right amount of vitamins and nutrients is essential to a healthy pregnancy," says Dr. Larissa Hirsch, a medical expert for KidsHealth.org. "And during pregnancy, you require more of the essential nutrients than you did before you became pregnant. Although prenatal vitamins shouldn't replace a well-balanced diet, taking them can give your body - and your baby - an added boost of vitamins and minerals." Hirsch says one important vitamin for all pregnant women, and even women planning to conceive, is folic acid, which can help prevent birth defects of the brain and spinal cord. Women in the first three months of pregnancy should take 400 micrograms of folic acid daily. Most prenatal vitamins contain enough, since they usually have 600 to 1000 micrograms of folic acid, Hirsch says. Extra calcium is also needed during pregnancy for your developing baby's bones. And pregnant women need iron so that they can make enough blood for both themselves and their babies. "Even when women eat a healthy diet, it's very difficult to reach the daily pregnancy iron quota of 27 milligrams," says Elizabeth M. Ward, a registered dietitian, Reading, Mass., author of "Expect the Best, Your Guide to Healthy Eating Before, During, & After Pregnancy" (Wiley, May 2009). "The CDC recommends that all pregnant women take 30 mg of iron once pregnancy occurs, as an individual supplement or as part of a multivitamin," she says. Recent studies have found that certain vitamin deficiencies, like vitamin D, can affect both the mother and the baby, Hirsch adds. Michael Holick, a professor of medicine and senior author of the vitamin D study at Boston University, suggests pregnant women already drinking milk and taking a multivitamin should add up to 1,000 units daily of vitamin D. According to the study, the scientists found that women with low blood levels of vitamin D were almost four times as likely to have an emergency C-section as those with normal levels. In addition to reducing the risk of C-section, Holick says there is other evidence that vitamin D also "reduces infants' risk of wheezing disorder for the first three years, reduces the risk of asthma and improves bone health." Experts say that any supplements should be taken in consultation with your doctor. Even men can benefit from vitamins. "A future father should take a daily multivitamin with no iron in it," Ward says. "Men do not need extra iron from supplements, but they do need the zinc, vitamin C, and folic acid to form viable sperm that are able to fertilize an egg." "While there are no vitamins that can prepare you for becoming a parent, it is important for expectant dads to stay healthy," says Hirsch. "Eating a balanced diet, taking a daily multivitamin, getting plenty of exercise and seeing the doctor for routine exams, can help make sure a new dad is in good shape before the baby arrives." |
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