Choosing your pregnancy vitamins, often called prenatal vitamins, can be a real obstacle course if you lack knowledge.
Between the ingredients to avoid , which are harmful to our health, poorly formulated complexes which systematically include iron (iron supplementation should not be done lightly and must be done after a blood test), and those which lack vitamins and essential minerals for the entire pregnancy, many women find themselves lost.
How to choose pregnancy vitamins mindfully? By choosing healthy compositions, which include the following nutrients considered by many health professionals (conventional and natural) as being essential for the smooth progress of the pregnancy and the growth of the baby.
Vitamin B9
Vitamin B9 ( folic acid under its synthetic name ) is one of the most important vitamins for pregnancy. It allows, from the desire to have a child, to limit the risks of malformations of the future baby and promotes the good development of the fetus. In France, 75% of women of childbearing age are deficient in vitamin B9. However, a vitamin B9 deficiency constitutes a major risk factor for neurological abnormalities and neural tube defects in newborns. In order to reduce the risk of serious disabilities, it is recommended to take supplements from the preconception phase . Indeed, it is during the first weeks of pregnancy that your baby's nervous system takes shape and cell division takes place. Always prefer a bioavailable vitamin B9 (natural folates are much more assimilable by the body than folic acid).
Calcium
Calcium needs in pregnant women increase by 30%. A good reason to supplement! Calcium is essential for the good development of the baby since it supports the production and strength of bones, but also of teeth. Calcium also plays a role against hypertension, limits premature births and even prevents baby blues.
A tip: choose pregnancy vitamins that contain calcium and vitamin D, which help fix it on the bones!
Vitamin C
Precious during childbirth and labor, vitamin C helps avoid the risk of anemia (since vitamin C promotes the absorption of iron), supports the immune system and promotes the production of collagen (thus limiting the famous stretch marks). ). Vitamin C is one of the most available vitamins through food, but if you have a diet low in fruits and vegetables, then it becomes important to supplement. Especially since vitamin C cannot be stored, the body therefore needs daily intake.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is important in preconception and during pregnancy. It is during this that your baby's reserves will build up. It guarantees good bone and dental health by promoting the absorption of calcium. A lack of vitamin D can be responsible for pregnancy complications. Choose the most effective form of vitamin D3 (and the one present in our Pregnancy supplement ).
A tip: To be better assimilated, it needs magnesium.
Iodine
Iodine plays a vital role in good thyroid health for mother and child. This trace element also contributes to good brain development and cognitive functions. You must therefore be careful not to exhaust your reserves. The fetus needs iodine, pregnancy hormones stimulate the thyroid gland and increase your iodine needs as well.
Magnesium
During pregnancy, your baby will draw on your mineral reserves. It is therefore important to have a good intake, particularly of magnesium. The needs are also greater in breastfeeding women. Important for the nervous system, it is considered a natural “anti-stress”. It is useful for the health of nails and hair, it is very effective against fatigue, cramps, headaches. Finally, magnesium potentiates the tryptophan, the amino acid precursor of serotonin (happiness hormone) and melatonin (sleep hormone) and allows better assimilation of vitamin D.
Magnesium and vitamin D work in synergy, check the compositions carefully!
Choline
Still little present in French food supplements, choline is nevertheless essential. It helps prevent the risk of preeclampsia, could reduce the risks of neural tube defects and premature birth and it promotes the proper functioning of your future child's memory. Choline is also essential for the proper development of the placenta as well as the growth of fetal organs.
BONUS : Vitamin E
It is not present everywhere nor considered essential, and yet vitamin E contributes to the good health of blood vessels and supports the body neurologically. Some studies have shown that vitamin E deficiencies during pregnancy can increase the risk of infections, heart disease and even neurological disorders.
Zinc, selenium and also B vitamins (in particular B12, cofactor of vitamin B9), are also important nutrients throughout pregnancy.
At Boome, our products are formulated after reading numerous studies and by women's health professionals. We made a point of excluding any ingredients harmful to health, in reaction to what already existed on the market, but we also took care to develop a pregnancy multivitamin which includes a large majority of essential nutrients.
