From conception through to breast-feeding, your nutritional requirements change too. The amount of nutrients you should be getting each day is called your recommended dietary intake, or RDI. Research shows that many pregnant women in Australia may fall well short of their RDIs for many nutrients important for both their own wellbeing and the healthy physical and mental development of their babies. Here are just some of the essential nutrients, and why pregnant and breast-feeding women need to make sure they’re getting enough:
Folate in the early stages of pregnancy plays a vital role in neural tube development and may reduce a woman’s risk of bearing a child with a neural tube defect (NTD) such as spina bifida (where the neural tube fails to close properly). Closure of the neural tube occurs three to four weeks after conception (before many women even know they’re pregnant), so ensuring adequate folate intake around the time of conception is important.
Iodine is important for a baby’s normal mental development and helps maintain growth and thyroid function. Research has shown that many pregnant women in Australia are deficient in iodine so Blackmores Pregnancy & Breast-Feeding Gold now contains 250 µg per daily dose.
DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) is an omega-3 fatty acid which babies need for healthy development of their brain, eyesight and nervous system. DHA levels during pregnancy and lactation may even influence a child’s mental development later in life. DHA occurs naturally in breast milk, but its level depends on the mother’s dietary intake. Fish oil provides one of the best sources of dietary DHA.
Iron needs increase markedly during pregnancy, but many pregnant women may not be getting their full RDI of iron. Iron is important for the production of healthy red blood cells to carry oxygen to all tissues in the body, including the placenta.
Zinc is vital for reproductive function, growth, metabolism and immunity.