With pregnancy, expectant mothers begin to feel stressed about being able to provide for their babies. They become concerned about protecting themselves and being beneficial to their babies. For this reason, it is critical to replenish vitamin stores by paying attention to a balanced and regular diet! Your body's needs increase throughout pregnancy. Extra vitamins, minerals and nutrients are needed to maintain your body's order and support your baby's development. Even though it should be taken from food as naturally as possible, you will need to take supplements during pregnancy. Particularly important nutrients are:
Iodine: Thyroid tissue is a tissue in our body that regulates our metabolism. Iodine takes part in the production of thyroid hormone. It helps the development of the brain and nervous system of babies and children. Your need for iodine increases during pregnancy, and meeting your developing baby's needs is up to you alone. Since iodine deficiency during pregnancy reduces thyroid hormone production, it causes hypothyroidism and brain damage in the baby and early childhood. For this reason, pregnant women and children should be protected from iodine deficiency. Adding iodine to table salt is one of the regulations made to eliminate this deficiency. Mental retardation due to iodine deficiency can be prevented. Iodine has been added to table salt in our country and it significantly closes the gap. Those with thyroid disease should definitely consult their doctor before pregnancy, and if so, their medication dosage and nutrition should be readjusted.
Multivitamin and mineral supplements during pregnancy: Once you become pregnant, you can have a balanced and adequate diet for both yourself and your baby. However, it is still difficult to get all your needs from food. Pregnancy and breastfeeding are special periods when daily vitamin and mineral requirements increase. For this reason, multivitamin and mineral preparations, specially prepared for pregnancy and aimed at increasing needs during pregnancy, are useful. This becomes even more important especially in patients who have comorbidities, are vegetarians, smokers or alcohol users, or have multiple pregnancies. You should definitely share this information with your doctor. There are also substances that are rare in multivitamin and mineral preparations and therefore must be taken with food. These; calcium, omega-3 and D It is a vitamin. Just like everything else, too much vitamin supplements are harmful! Some substances, such as Vitamin A, should be avoided in high doses as they may be harmful to the baby. In the first months of pregnancy, it may be difficult to swallow these pills when the expectant mother already has nausea and vomiting. However, since it is much more important in these patients, especially in this period, swallowing should be tried even if it is difficult. The vitamin B6 in it will help relieve nausea. You can also crush it and consume it in your favorite food.
Pregnancy and omega-3: Omega-3 has important benefits on your baby's nervous system, brain development, and the formation of the retina layer in the eye. Omega-3 also plays an important role in ensuring a healthy pregnancy for the expectant mother. It also has a reducing effect on the risk of pregnancy poisoning (preeclampsia), postpartum depression and premature birth. Insufficient intake of omega-3 in the diet during pregnancy may cause the baby to be born with low birth weight and increase the likelihood of premature birth and cesarean section. Omega-3 also has positive effects on the baby in the long term. Studies have shown that the babies of expectant mothers who consume enough omega-3 are more likely to be affected by their babies than those who do not consume enough omega-3. Focusing attention and visual perception are better and their development is 2 months ahead. The effects of omega-3 may include fewer developmental and behavioral problems in these babies and less frequent breast and prostate cancer in adulthood. The period when the baby especially needs it is the last 3 months of pregnancy. Although it is recommended to consume at least 250 mg of omega-3 daily during pregnancy, more attention should be paid to supplementation in the last trimester. Omega-3 is mostly found in fish and fish oil products. These are fatty fish (mackerel, sardines, anchovies, tuna and salmon), omega-3 fish oil tablets. Omega-3 sources other than fish are; eggs, fruits and green leafy vegetables, flaxseed oil and walnuts. You can also meet your Omega-3 needs by eating 2 walnuts a day. The important thing about omega-3 tablets sold in pharmacies is that you choose those that are not made from fish liver, because fish liver contains high amounts of retinol vitamin A and this substance can cause birth defects. Hence honey Omega-3 tablets obtained from the human body, not the liver, should be preferred. This has already been taken into consideration, especially in tablets for pregnant women, so you should choose them.
Vitamin D during pregnancy: Vitamin D plays a role in calcium and phosphorus mechanisms. These elements are important for the bone and teeth development of the baby as well as the expectant mother during pregnancy. If vitamin D deficiency occurs during pregnancy, the unborn baby may experience developmental delays and skeletal disorders and may be born with low birth weight. These babies are born with low bone density, and by the time they are 8-9 years old, their bone mass is lower than their peers. They also face the risk of osteoporosis (bone loss) in later years of life. Again, due to vitamin D deficiency, the risk of pregnancy poisoning (preeclampsia) in the expectant mother also increases. The recommended daily dose of vitamin D for pregnant women is 4000 IU for expectant mothers who cannot be adequately exposed to sunlight. Vitamin D can be taken in very small amounts with food. The main source is exposure to sunlight and synthesis in the skin. At this point a contradiction arises. Vitamin D supplementation is absolutely necessary in pregnant women. Instead of taking vitamin D as a daily tablet, vitamin D can be used in ampoule form, which is quite cheap. You can drink these ampoules once a month. This will meet your monthly needs. Since it is a fat-soluble vitamin, it can be mixed with olive oil and drunk. This usage can be used in all individuals and children except pregnancy.
Pregnancy and calcium: During pregnancy, your developing baby needs calcium for bone, tooth development, nervous system and muscle development. If the expectant mother cannot get enough calcium through diet, the calcium in her bones is released into the blood and used by the baby. While this affects the health of the expectant mother, it can also cause serious problems in the baby. Especially during pregnancy, the increased calcium need cannot be fully met by diet. Multivitamin supplements contain small amounts of calcium. For this reason, you should pay special attention to taking it with food. Try to consume more milk and dairy products, yoghurt and cheese, whichever you like. Excessive calcium intake in the form of supplements predisposes to constipation and kidney stones. For this reason, do not use it without consulting your doctor.
Pregnancy and magnese yum: In the musculoskeletal system, calcium works together with magnesium. While calcium causes muscles to contract, magnesium causes relaxation. For this reason, we use magnesium when there is a threat of premature birth. In case of magnesium deficiency, the risk of pregnancy toxicity and developmental delay may increase. Magnesium is also found in bones and teeth, controls blood sugar and insulin, and plays a role in regulating heart rhythm. It is also useful in preventing leg cramps, which are common discomforts during pregnancy. Your doctor may start taking supplements to relieve these cramps that occur in the following weeks of pregnancy.
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