Pregnancy obviously results in an increased need for vitamins and
minerals. Deficiency or excess of any of a number of nutrients can
lead to birth defects and/or complications during pregnancy for
the mother. What is a mother-to-be to do? Here are some key recommendations
to increase the odds of a healthy pregnancy:
- Eat a highly nutritious diet that focuses on whole, unprocessed
foods.
- Eat 2-3 servings per week of cold-water fish (salmon, mackerel,
herring, halibut, etc.) or take a fish oil supplement containing
EPA and DHA.
- Take a "high potency, full-spectrum, prenatal multiple
vitamin and mineral.
- Take additional iron if needed.
Recommendation #1 - Eat a highly nutritious diet
The importance of high quality nutrition during pregnancy is obvious.
The key recommendation is to focus on natural, whole foods. Stay
away from processed foods especially those foods that have no real
nutritional value (i.e., junk foods). Also, read food labels carefully
and try to stay away from foods that contain trans fatty acids and
partially hydrogenated oils including margarine, shortening, and
most processed foods. Studies have shown that the higher intake
of trans fatty acids, the greater the risk of delivering a premature
baby.1 These fats interfere
with fetal development, especially in the brain. Another type of
food to avoid is cured and smoked meats. These foods contain compounds
(nitrites and nitrates) that appear to be very harmful to the fetus.
Studies implicate diets high in nitrites and nitrates during pregnancy
with higher rates of brain cancer, diabetes, and leukemia in the
offspring.2
Recommendation #2 - Increase the intake of omega-3 fatty acids
The second recommendation to eat 2-3 servings per week of cold-water
fish (salmon, mackerel, herring, halibut, etc.) or take a pharmaceutical
grade fish oil supplement like RxOmega-3 Factors from Natural Factors
to increase the level of omega-3 fatty acids available to the growing
fetus. One of the more important omega-3 fatty acids for fetal development
is docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). In fact, DHA is essential for proper
brain and eye development as it is the primary structural fatty
acid in the gray matter of the brain and retina of the eye. Adequate
levels of DHA are important for all ages, but it is particularly
important for pregnant and nursing women.
Significant brain and eye development occurs while the fetus is
in the womb and continues during the first year after birth. Infants
rely on their mothers to supply DHA for the developing brain and
eyes initially through the placenta and then through breast milk.
DHA is the most abundant omega-3 long chain fatty acid in breast
milk and studies show that breast-fed babies have IQ advantages
over babies fed formula without DHA. But, DHA levels in the breast
milk of U.S. women are among the lowest in the world. Increasing
DHA levels should be a primary goal for all pregnant or lactating
women.3
Recommendation #3 - Take a high potency multiple vitamin and mineral
formula
The discovery that folic acid supplementation in early pregnancy
can reduce the incidence of neural tube defects by as much as 80%
has been referred to as one of the greatest discoveries of the last
part of the 20th century. The evidence became so overwhelming that
the FDA finally had to reverse their previous position and acknowledge
the association and allow folic acid supplements and high folic
acid containing foods to claim that "daily consumption of folic
acid by women of childbearing age may reduce the risk of neural
tube defects."
Folic acid is just one of many essential nutrients. What about
the others? Are they less important than folic acid? Absolutely
not! A deficiency of virtually any nutrient during pregnancy is
going to have serious repercussions for the mother and the baby.
Furthermore, adequate levels of key nutrients such as antioxidants,
calcium, magnesium, and other B vitamins may help insure a healthy
pregnancy and delivery by preventing complications of pregnancy
such gestational diabetes as well as the potentially life-threatening
condition of preeclampsia (also known as toxemia of pregnancy).4-7
Simply stated, taking a multiple vitamin and mineral designed specifically
for pregnant and lactating women makes perfectly good sense. The
only caveat is to make sure that the vitamin A content is provided
by beta-carotene rather than vitamin A. Do not take more than 5,000
IU of vitamin A per day if you are pregnant unless it is provided
in the form of beta-carotene rather than as retinol.
In an order to provide the optimal levels of necessary micronutrients
to promote a healthy pregnancy and delivery, I developed MultiStart
Prenatal formula for pregnant and lactating women. In addition to
providing optimal levels of vitamins and minerals, this formula
includes a number of important supportive compounds including super
green food concentrates from alfalfa juice, spirulina, and wheat
grass juice as well as extracts of ginger, dandelion root, and red
raspberry leaves. These herbs have longed been used to promote a
healthy pregnancy. Ginger is valued for its clinically-proven ability
to lessen nausea and vomiting of pregnancy;8
dandelion root extract works to relieve the burden on the liver
by promoting the proper detoxification and elimination of the increased
hormones produced during pregnancy;9
and red raspberry leaf extract helps strengthen blood vessels in
the uterus and placenta to help avoid any premature rupture or contractions.10
Recommendation #4 - Take additional iron if needed
The dramatic increase for iron during pregnancy cannot usually
be met through diet alone. Supplementation is often warranted. Usually
the amount of iron contained in a prenatal multiple is sufficient,
but if a mother-to-be develops anemia or has evidence of low iron
stores (serum ferritin is the best determination) then additional
supplementation is required.11
For iron deficiency during pregnancy, a woman will need to take
an additional 30 mg of iron twice daily between meals for best absorption.
If this recommendation results in abdominal discomfort, then 30
mg can be taken with meals three times daily.
Final Comments
Pregnancy carries with it tremendous responsibility. It is not
enough to avoid factors that can damage the developing fetus like
smoking and alcohol, during pregnancy proper nutrition is even more
critical than usual. I urge all mothers-to-be to follow the simple
recommendations above to help give your developing child the best
odds of developing into a healthy baby.
Key References:
- Decsi T, Burus I, Molnar S, Minda H, Veitl V. Inverse association
between trans isomeric and long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids
in cord blood lipids of full-term infants. Am J Clin Nutr 2001;74:364-8.
- Blot WJ, Henderson BE, Boice JD Jr. Childhood cancer in relation
to cured meat intake: review of the epidemiological evidence.
Nutr Cancer 1999;34:111-8.
- Allen KG, Harris MA. The role of n-3 fatty acids in gestation
and parturition. Exp Biol Med 2001;226:498-506.
- Kulier R, de Onis M, Gulmezoglu AM, Villar J. Nutritional interventions
for the prevention of maternal morbidity. Int J Gynaecol Obstet
1998;63:231-46.
- Bendich A. Micronutrients in women's health and immune function.
Nutrition 2001;17:858-67.
- Villar J, Belizan JM. Same nutrient, different hypotheses:
disparities in trials of calcium supplementation during pregnancy.
Am J Clin Nutr 2000;71(Suppl.5):1375S-9S.
- Bolisetty S, Naidoo D, Lui K, et al. Antenatal supplementation
of antioxidant vitamins to reduce the oxidative stress at delivery--a
pilot study. Early Hum Dev 2002;67:47-53.
- Vutyavanich T, Kraisarin T, Ruangsri R. Ginger for nausea and
vomiting in pregnancy: randomized, double-masked, placebo-controlled
trial. Obstet Gynecol 2001;97:577-82.
- Bohm K. Choleretic action of some medicinal plants. Arzneim
Forsch 1959;9:376-378
- Bamford DS, Percival RC, Tothill AU. Raspberry leaf tea: A
new aspect to an old problem. Br J Pharmacol 1970;40:161P-2P.
- Allen LH. Pregnancy and iron deficiency: unresolved issues.
Nutr Rev 1997;55:91-101.
Michael T. Murray, N.D., is widely regarded as one of world's leading authorities on natural medicine. A prolific author, Dr. Murray has written over 20 books on health and nutrition including the best-selling Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine and his latest book The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods. Dr. Murray is also Director of Product Development and Education for Natural Factors one of the leading manufacturers of natural products.
