When should a pregnant woman use nutritional supplements?
When should a pregnant woman use nutritional supplements?
When should a pregnant woman use nutritional supplements?
A woman during pregnancy and lactation needs to increase the nutrients in her body from its normal rate, as she is exposed to a deficiency in essential vitamins and minerals, due to the fetus absorbing all these elements from her body, so doctors sometimes compensate for this deficiency through nutritional supplement tablets.
During pregnancy, the fetus absorbs vitamins and minerals (especially iron) from the body. During childbirth, the body consumes a large amount of energy, loses a lot of iron, and prepares for milk production. While during lactation, the body compensates for what it lost during pregnancy and childbirth in terms of vitamins and minerals, and supports the treasuries. To produce more milk and restore energy, the nursing mother also loses a lot of zinc.
Therefore, doctors advise that the mother’s daily diet in these stages be varied, balanced, and healthy based on the five basic food groups: grains and starches, vegetables, fruits, meat and legumes, and milk and its derivatives. Each group has its own importance and characteristics in providing food and energy.
It is not recommended to take multivitamin and mineral tablets for pregnant or breastfeeding women unless:
• Your daily diet provides you with less than 1,800 calories.
• In the event of anemia during pregnancy or a significant loss of blood during childbirth (especially a caesarean section).
• In the event of abstaining from certain foods such as meat (a rich source of iron) or milk and its derivatives (a source of calcium).
• If you feel tired or dizzy.
• In the event that the doctor prescribed it to you
Does pregnant with twins need more vitamins and minerals?
Of course, you need more nutrients, especially calcium and iron, so it is very important to pay attention to the quality of food and to be varied and in greater quantity, while making sure to take the nutritional supplements prescribed by the doctor regularly.
