When you are pregnant, you will do anything to keep yourself and your baby health, be that through attending your mainstream appointments and scans or by looking into what complementary methods there are for improving your wellness.
One of the best things that you can do for the wellbeing of your unborn baby is to eat a healthy and varied diet, packed full of vitamins and minerals. These will help your baby to grow and develop as normal, and will help to give you enough energy as you carry out the difficult task of growing (and carrying around!) a little human. Fortifying your body will also help to prepare you for labour, and for the tiring months ahead when you have a newborn on your hands.
The best way of getting these all-important minerals and vitamins is by eating the aforementioned healthy diet, but it is also important to realise that even if your diet is perfect, there are some that you do not get enough of through diet alone.
Folic acid is particularly important – this is vital for protecting your baby as it grows, and you should aim to take around 400 micrograms of folic acid every day from before you are pregnant until around the 13th week of pregnancy (although some like to continue with it longer, and there is no harm in this). This protects against neural tube defects such as spina bifida.
Vitamin D is also now recommended for those who are pregnant, and you need around 10 micrograms of this per day.
One to avoid is vitamin A (or anything containing vitamin A) as this can damage your baby’s eyes when they are still developing.