Maternity supplements 101: Selecting the best maternity supplements
Want to ensure that your pregnancy goes off without a hitch? Apart from eating healthy through the course of your pregnancy, you should also be supporting your diet with maternity supplements that will cover any nutritional gaps. Read on to find out more about selecting the best maternity supplements:
Essential ingredients in maternity supplements:
#1: Folic Acid
Folic acid is perhaps one of the most important things to look out for in your supplements - so important, in fact, that doctors recommend that women expecting to get pregnant take at least 400 micrograms per day before conception, and 600 micrograms per day once they know they’re pregnant.
What does folic acid do? It helps prevent neural tube birth defects which affect the baby’s brain and spinal cord. By taking folic acid, you lessen the chances of the baby’s skull not developing fully, or the baby’s spinal column not closing completely. Note that there is no cure for these neural tube defects - so make sure you get in your recommended dosage of folic acid to prevent the defects from happening!
#2: Calcium
Another important ingredient that your maternity supplements should contain is calcium. Babies rely on calcium for bone growth, so make sure you have adequate calcium to help the baby develop stronger bones, teeth, nerves and muscles, and prevent yourself from losing your own bone density. In particular, look for maternity supplements that give you between 100 and 300 milligrams of calcium.
#3: Vitamin D
Last but not least, ensure that your maternity supplements contain at least 10 micrograms, or 400 units of Vitamin D. This helps to absorb calcium, and also regulate the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body.
Many people neglect to look out for Vitamin D when they’re purchasing maternity supplements, thinking that they get sufficient Vitamin D in their daily routines. However, if you’re often cooped up in the office with minimal exposure to the sun, it’s highly likely that you have a Vitamin D deficiency, and you need to make up for this by supplementing your intake.
Choosing your supplements:
When choosing maternity supplements, make sure you stick to an established company which has a reputable brand name. This isn’t the time for experimenting!
In particular, there are several Australian brands which have a strong track record of producing excellent, high quality products for pregnant women. One such company is Mygen Health, which specializes in formulas that support healthy foetal development.
How Mygen’s maternity supplement ranks against other maternity supplements:
In order to ensure that your pregnancy goes as smoothly as possible, always make sure you look out for quality when your purchase your maternity supplements. At the same time, get plenty of rest, exercise, and try to reduce your stress levels as much as possible. All the best with your pregnancy!