Why should I take a prenatal supplement?
If you are planning to fall pregnant, then YES, you should be taking a prenatal supplement (or prenatal supplements, depending on what you need).
But why should you take prenatal supplements?
In this blog post I am breaking down the key reasons why I tell my clients they should take a prenatal supplement.
I can totally understand why you might feel a bit apprehensive about the need for a supplement. Sadly, the supplement market has been flooded with so much unnecessary garbage that it feels impossible to determine what is actually relevant and helpful for you and what’s not.
During TTC and pregnancy, food comes first when it comes to getting in your essential nutrients. However, prenatal supplements can ensure you’re definitely meeting your requirements, especially during pregnancy when a number of your micronutrient needs increase. I like to think of them as a bit of a nutrition insurance policy!
Ideally, start your prenatal supplement regime 3 to 6 months before you conceive.
(1) You need to supplement folic acid and iodine as a minimum
In Australia (where I am based), the National Health and Medical Research Council has set recommendations for supplementing both folic acid and iodine before and during pregnancy.
As widely acknowledged and research-based public health recommendations, I think of these two nutrients as the “bare minimum” when it comes to prenatal supplement requirements.
You’ve probably heard that you need to take folic acid. Supplementation has been shown to greatly reduce the risk of brain and spinal cord birth defects (known as neural tube defects). These defects occur very early in pregnancy, so ideally you should start supplementing at least one month before you fall pregnant (NRV, 2014).
I’ve found that fewer of my clients realise that they should also be supplementing iodine. Iodine is a mineral that is crucial for thyroid hormone production. Thyroid issues can contribute to infertility or sub-fertility, so optimising your iodine intake is important from the get-go. During pregnancy, iodine is required to support baby’s thyroid hormones, growth and brain development, and deficiency can increase the risk of birth defects (NHMRC, 2010).
(2) You can complement your dietary intake of other important nutrients
The majority of specially-made prenatal supplements come in a multi vitamin and mineral format, meaning that they contain a number of micronutrients beyond just folic acid and iodine. Depending on your personal dietary intake, a prenatal supplement in this form can act as a complement to your diet.
You definitely can get in a significant amount of vitamins and minerals through your food, and supplements don’t replace a balanced diet. But they can be a source of additional nutrients to top up what you’re eating. If you follow a restricted diet for ethical, religious or medical reasons, you can select a prenatal supplement that helps to fill in any nutrients that may be more difficult to obtain on that diet.
This becomes even more important during pregnancy when your nutrient requirements increase, and you often develop a number of food aversions!
Some of the key nutrients that can be helpful to include in prenatal supplementation include:
Iron (you need a lot of iron in pregnancy and it’s a common nutrient deficiency)
Zinc (particularly if you don’t eat many or any animal products, which are a key source of zinc)
Vitamin D (a common nutrient deficiency)
Vitamin B6 (supplementation may be helpful for morning sickness)
Choline (a nutrient that’s really important for infant neurodevelopment, yet only a minority of adults are estimated to meet the adequate dietary intake)
(3) You can increase your intake of omega 3s to optimal levels
I do feel like a bit of a broken record harping on about omega 3’s sometimes. But these fatty acids are truly essential, our body cannot synthesise them in sufficiently high amounts so we need to get them from food.
We want to focus on two long-chain omega 3 fatty acids in particular, called EPA and DHA.
The best food source of EPA and DHA is oily fish. During pregnancy it’s recommended to have around 2-3 serves of safe (lower mercury) seafood per week. If you’re not sure what fish is safe for pregnancy and breastfeeding, check out my blog post on seafood here.
However, even if you’re getting regular seafood into your diet, you may not be hitting the levels of omega 3 that have been associated with positive benefits for pregnancy. In particular, some research suggests a high level of DHA intake (over 500mg/day) may reduce the risk of early preterm birth and improve birth weight (Carlson et al., 2013; Kar et al., 2016; Middleton et al., 2018). It is pretty hard to get this from food alone. DHA is also essential for foetal brain and eye development, so it’s definitely something to focus on for pregnancy.
Higher intakes of omega 3 fats may also be beneficial for TTC! Omega 3 fats have been associated with increased rates of conception and may improve egg quality (especially in women over 35).
These are three of the key reasons I work with clients to develop a prenatal supplement plan. As each person has unique nutritional needs, we tailor their supplements to take into account factors like their age, medical history, medications and dietary preferences.
Subscribe to my mailing list and grab a copy of my Prenatal Supplements Tip Sheet! This will give you clear and concise background information on some of the key nutrients you find in prenatal supplements, if you’re feeling bamboozled by it all and want to learn more.
Ready to plan your personal prenatal supplement regime? Book a complimentary 15 minutes discovery call with me to learn how we can work together to optimise your fertility and pregnancy journey.
WHY YOU SHOULD TAKE A PRENATAL SUPPLEMENT: In this blog post, I’m breaking down the key reasons I recommend to my clients that they take prenatal supplements to support fertility and a healthy pregnancy. Join the mailing list and grab a complimentary tip sheet on prenatal supplements, too! @ Monique Cormack Nutrition