Vitamin/Mineral:(How Why You Need It: Much/day)

Best Sources To Find It: Liver, milk, eggs, carrots, spinach, green and yellow vegetables, broccoli, potatoes, pumpkin, yellow fruits, cantaloupe

Vitamin A & Beta Carotene (700 mcg)

Development of bones and teeth grow

germ, sunflower seeds, bananas, beans, broccoli, brown rice, oats, bran, peanuts,walnuts Oranges, orange juice, strawberries, green leafy vegetables, spinach, beets, broccoli, cauliflower, fortified cereals, peas, pasta, beans, nuts Yogurt, milk, cheddar cheese, calcium-fortified foods like soy milk, juices, breads, cereals, dark green leafy vegetables, canned fish with bones

Vitamin D (5 mcg)

Helps body use calcium and phosphorus; promotes strong teeth and bones

Helps support the placenta, and Folic Acid/Folate (600 prevents spina mcg) bifidaand other neural tube defects

Milk, fatty fish

Vitamin E (15 mg)

Helps body form and Vegetable oil, wheat use red blood cells germ, nuts, spinach, and muscles fortified cereals

An antioxidant that Citrus fruits, bell protects tissues from peppers, green beans, damage and helps Vitamin C (80 - 85 mg) strawberries, papaya, body absorb iron; potatoes, broccoli, builds healthy tomatoes immune system Whole grain, fortified Raises energy level cereals, wheat germ, and regulates organ meats, eggs, rice, nervous system pasta, berries, nuts, legumes, pork Meats, poultry, fish, dairy products, fortified cereals, eggs High-protein foods, fortified cereals and breads, meats, fish, milk, eggs, peanuts

Creates strong bones and teeth, Calcium (1,000 - 1,300 helps prevent blood mg) clots, helps muscles and nerves function

Iron (27 mg)

Helps in the production of Beef, pork, dried beans, hemoglobin; spinach, dried fruits, preventsanemia, low wheat germ, oatmeal or birth weight, grains fortified with iron and premature birth Most animal foods, Helps in the meat, poultry, eggs, production of amino dairy products, veggie acids; repairs cells burgers, beans, legumes, nuts Red meats, poultry, Helps produce beans, nuts, whole insulin and enzymes grains, fortified cereals, oysters, dairy products

Prenatal Care

Thiamin/B1 (1.4 mg)

Protein (60 mg)

Maintains energy, Riboflavin/B2 (1.4 mg) good eyesight, healthy skin Promotes healthy skin, nerves and digestion

Zinc (11-12 mg)

Niacin/B3 (18 mg)

Helps form red blood Chicken, fish, liver, pork, eggs, soybeans, carrots, Pyridoxine/B6 (1.9 mg) cells; helps with cabbage, cantaloupe, morning sickness peas, spinach, wheat

What is Prenatal Care?

 Prenatal care (also known as antenatal care) refers to the medical and nursing care recommended for women before and during pregnancy. The aim of good prenatal care is to detect any potential problems early, to prevent them if possible (through recommendations on adequate nutrition, exercise, vitamin intake etc.), and to direct the woman to appropriate specialists, hospitals, etc. if necessary. Prenatal care generally consists of: monthly visits during the first two trimesters (from week 1 28) biweekly from 28 to week 36 of pregnancy weekly after week 36 (delivery at week 3840) Assessment of parental needs and family dynamic

Calcium supplements are prescribed by your obstetrician to prevent insufficient calcium level. For pregnant women, if there is not enough calcium in your body, calcium and lead are extracted from the mothers bones and enters the blood stream. This would pose a risk of damaging the nervous system of the growing fetus. At a later stage of your life, you might experience higher risk of osteoporosis.

According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists a pregnant women should increase their usual servings of a variety of foods from five basic food groups to include the following: Three to four servings of fruits and vegetables Nine servings of whole-grain or enriched bread, cereal, rice, or pasta for energy Three servings of milk, yogurt, and cheese for calcium Three servings of meat, poultry, fish, eggs, nuts, dried beans, and peas for protein

MINERALS?
Iron Pregnant women are prone to iron deficiency. It is a common occurrence especially during the last six weeks of pregnancy when you are unlikely to get sufficient iron from even the best iron-clad diet. If you experience severe morning sickness during the earlier stage of pregnancy, carrying twins, conceived again shortly after giving birth and experience heavy menstrual flow before pregnancy, you are at a higher risk of iron deficiency. Why is your iron requirement considerably higher when youre pregnant? Simply because iron is crucial in making blood for you, your baby and placenta. When youre pregnant your bodys blood requirement goes up considerably. Take adequate vitamin C too as it is needed for absorption of iron into your body. Supplementation, however, can interfere with your bodys ability to absorb zinc from food. Therefore, it is common for zinc supplements to be given alongside iron supplements. Zinc Pregnant women need adequate level of zinc to prevent preterm births and to a lesser extent, ensure healthy babies and smoother deliveries. Your pre-natal vitamins will contain sufficient zinc supplementation It is common for zinc supplements to be given alongside iron supplements because extra iron interferes with your bodys ability to absorb zinc from food. Iodine As for the role of iodine during pregnancy, according to the WHO, the lack of iodine is the single greatest cause of mental retardation in babies. Growing fetus uses their mothers iodine to develop thyroid hormones and allows the brain to grow normally. Your pregnancy iodine intake requirement is available in pre-natal supplement.

Vitamins?

FOLIC ACID Also referred to as folate, folic acid is one of the very first and widely prescribed supplement to pregnant woman. It is also given to women who intend to conceive and should be taken one month before conception until the end of first trimester of pregnancy. Sufficient folic acid supplementation is crucial to protect against neural tube defects. The lack of folate could cause neural tube defects in an embryo during early part of pregnancy. It can cause birth defects severe enough to result in fetus fatality. That is why doctors strictly prescribe folic acid to ensure pregnant women get sufficient levels of folic acid to prevent neural tube defects. VITAMIN A Pregnant women should only consume pre-natal multivitamin supplement prescribed by their OB. The daily recommended intake of vitamin A in prenatal vitamins should not exceed 5000IU as many foods contain preformed vitamin A. Beta-carotene on the other hand, found in fruits and vegetables, is a safe source of vitamin A for pregnant women. There is currently no tolerable upper intake level for betacarotene because of its non-toxicity nature. Carrots and spinach contains an abundant amount of Vitamin A. Pregnant women should consume a diet rich in vegetables and fruit. In fact, an average carrot provides 15,000 IU of safe beta-carotene form of vitamin A. CALCIUM AND PHOSPHORUS As the fetus grows, calcium plays an important role in fetal bone formation and structure. Phosphorus is needed to form the structure of both DNA and RNA.

What to eat?