What Are the Benefits of Prenatal Vitamins Before Pregnancy?

Prenatal vitamins are key for women who are trying to conceive and for women who are pregnant. Women who are trying to conceive need to prepare their body for conception and women who are pregnant need extra nutrition to share with the baby.

Function

Prenatal vitamins have a variety of nutrients that are designed to fill in any gaps in the mother's diet that may be there. Folic acid, Vitamin C, iron and calcium are essential to a baby's growth that a woman needs both before and during pregnancy.

Benefits

Folic acid is especially known for reducing the chances of having a baby with birth defects, namely spina bifida. It is also shown to reduce birth defects involving the brain and spinal cord. Calcium is important for both the mother and baby's bones. It helps the mother to keep a normal bone density and bone growth for the baby. Iron helps oxygen travel in the blood of both the mother and child.

Warning

Due to the concentrated nature of prenatal vitamins, they can upset your stomach. It is often a good idea to take these vitamins with food and water to counter any side effects that you might get from taking prenatal vitamins.

Misconceptions

Prenatal vitamins are not a complete dosage of your daily recommended value. Just because you are taking prenatal vitamins does not mean that you will not need to take additional supplements in order to get the proper nutrients for you and your baby.

Potential

The longer you take prenatal vitamins prior to becoming pregnant the better chance you have at getting the full benefit of the vitamins. If the mother experiences a nutritional deficiency, it can take months in order to restore the woman's nutritional balance.