Finding out your pregnant can cause a wide range of emotions.  You may be excited and eager for your new little one to arrive, or you may be experiencing severe anxiety over your unplanned pregnancy.  If you have feelings of uncertainty about your pregnancy, help is available.  No matter what you may be feeling, it’s important to ensure your body is the ideal environment for healthy fetal growth. By incorporating vitamins into your prenatal care regimen, you’ll reap a number of benefits for yourself and your baby. Below, learn why prenatal vitamins are beneficial. 

Why Are They Beneficial?

As a pregnancy develops, the body adapts to create the most accommodating environment possible for your baby. However, to support another human, your body could use some additional nutrients. That’s where prenatal care vitamins come in. These supplements feature key ingredients that your body needs to support the fetus, both with vitamins and minerals. They can also help prevent certain conditions and defects in your baby as he or she grows in your womb.

What Are the Most Important Nutrients in Them?

The top two most important ingredients found in most prenatal vitamins are iron and folic acid. Folic acid is taken to reduce the risk of spina bifida, a condition that results in neural tube birth defects, which affect the spinal cord and brain. Some doctors even suggest that women who expect to get pregnant should start taking the supplement as soon as they start trying to conceive.

Iron is essential in carrying oxygen throughout the blood, which your body needs more of as your baby grows. Iron deficiency can result in anemia, which can result in weakness, bruising, headaches and chest pains. It can also prevent your baby from receiving enough oxygen. During pregnancy, the body can have up to twice the amount of blood it normally does, which makes additional iron supplements essential to you and your baby and can even help during the birthing process.

Other important ingredients in prenatal vitamins include calcium and iodine. Calcium strengthens the skeleton supporting the mother’s extra weight and ensures the baby’s bones grow strong, while iodine prevents the risk of miscarriage, stillbirth, and deafness in the baby.

If you’re hoping to learn more about staying healthy while pregnant, reach out to Women's Care Medical Center of Baldwin County. Since 1990, they’ve been helping expectant mothers learn the ropes and prepare for their future child. Whether you need a pregnancy test, an ultrasound, or to get started on prenatal care, call them at (251) 947-2111 to schedule an appointment. You can also visit their website to learn more about their women’s health services.