What Every Woman Should Know About Pregnancy and Prenatal Vitamins
Many people are aware of the importance of getting enough folic acid during the early stages of pregnancy and even before. Folic acid is crucial for proper development of the spine and brain while the infant is growing in the womb. Some people may be surprised to find out that taking multivitamins during this time is also a good idea.
A recently published study indicates that women who are trying to conceive or are in the early stages of pregnancy should be taking multivitamins. Ingesting multivitamins will reduce the risk of the child being born with specific neuroectodermal and medulloblastoma brain tumors.
A study conducted at Philadelphia’s Children’s Hospital contacted the mothers of more than three hundred children with brain tumors to ask if they took multivitamins before conception or in the early stages of pregnancy. The results were comparable to those seen in an earlier study.
The study showed that multivitamins did not reduce the risk of brain tumor development if they were taken later during the pregnancy but they did have an effect when taken early.
Women should get eat a healthy diet that includes at least 400 micrograms of folic acid. At the same time, women are cautioned against ingesting anything over 770 micrograms of vitamin A because too much of this substance can cause certain birth defects.
Women should avoid vitamins that do not have USP written on the label. This label verifies that the US Pharmacopeia Organization has evaluated the vitamin and approved it for use. Vitamins that carry the USP stamp have been tested for quality, safety and purity.
If you are trying to get pregnant, speak to your OB/GYN specialist to learn more about the association between pregnancy and prenatal vitamins. Taking the right vitamins at the right time is the right thing to do for you and your child.
