Your body's needs change substantially during pregnancy, requiring additional vitamins and minerals to nourish your growing baby and to maintain your own immune system. However healthy your diet, the chances are it may not supply enough for the two of you. Getting on top of what supplements to take, and when, is essential. This section will help.
Folate
Folate is essential for the healthy development of your baby, particularly in the early weeks of pregnancy when your baby is growing rapidly. Folate is a B group vitamin which occurs naturally in food, such as green leafy vegetables, although a supplement is also recommended during pregnancy. A daily supplement of 400 micrograms (mcg) of folic acid taken one month before and three months after conception helps prevent Neural Tube Defects (NTDs). These are serious developmental abnormalities such as Spina Bifida.
Vitamin B12
Vitamin B12 is an essential water-soluble vitamin found in animal protein such as meat, fish and dairy as well as other fortified foods. Women who are pregnant or lactating need to have sufficient levels of Vitamin B12 to prevent their baby from suffering serious side effects such as anaemia and irreversible neurological problems. Exclusively breast fed babies can rapidly deplete these stores if their mother is Vitamin B12 deficient. The level of Vitamin B12 in breast milk reflects the dietary intake and absorption of Vitamin B12 of the mother rather than the reserves you have. Women at risk include strict vegetarians/vegans and those with gastrointestinal disorders, which can often be undetected.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is an essential, fat-soluble vitamin that is predominantly derived from exposure to sunlight. Dietary intake alone is not enough to meet your daily requirements. Sun-smart policies have heightened the risk of Vitamin D deficiency. This risk increases in women with dark skin or who are veiled. Many women enter pregnancy vitamin D deficient. The fully breast fed newborn baby depends on maternal vitamin stores until 9-12 months of age as they have little sun exposure during this time. Infants who are Vitamin D deficient are at risk of rickets and low calcium in the newborn period, and there is also evidence that bone mineral is low later in childhood. Women should have their Vitamin D levels measured pre-pregnancy or in early pregnancy to determine if supplements are needed.
Iodine
Iodine is a trace element that is required by the thyroid gland to produce thyroid hormones. It can be found in dairy products, salt water fish, eggs and some soy products. Thyroid hormones are essential for the normal development of the baby’s brain and nervous system. Low thyroid hormones during fetal and early postnatal life causes irreversible brain damage, with intellectual disability and neurological abnormalities. Luckily it is easily prevented.
The 2006 National Iodine Study, conducted by the Australian Centre of Iodine Deficiency Disorders (ACCIDD), identified an iodine deficiency among the Australian population. In March 2010 the Australian Government and the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) advised women planning to get pregnant, who are already pregnant, or who are breast feeding, to take 150 micrograms (mcg) of supplemental iodine daily in addition to their dietry intake.
Iron
Iron requirements increase by 50 per cent during pregnancy. Iron is the only mineral where a diet high in iron is sufficient to meet this increase in demand from otherwise healthy women.
Routine iron supplementation in low risk women is not automatically advised in Australia.
High risk women are those who: are found to be iron deficient at their first antenatal visit; have a poor dietary intake of iron; have a multiple pregnancy; have had a recent pregnancy; are currently breast feeding; and who are vegetarians.