Pregnancy
How do vitamins benefit your baby?
This article may help answer:
Why do I need a pregnancy vitamin?
How can I help protect my baby from neural defects?
Which vitamins are important for my baby?
Did you know that the recommended dietary intake of some nutrients increases by 50 percent when you are pregnant1?
Getting all those extra vitamins and minerals into your body through diet alone can be hard. That’s why it’s recommended that you start taking a pregnancy supplement, such as Elevit, from one month before you start trying for a baby.
Find out more:
Although small, there is a risk during early pregnancy that the neural tube (which later becomes the brain and spinal cord) doesn’t form properly. This risk is greatest in the first month of pregnancy, which is often before a woman even knows she is pregnant.
Neural tube defects are defects of the brain, spine and spinal cord, most commonly spina bifida. However, the risk of neural tube defects is reduced if you have enough folate at the time of conception.
- green leafy vegetables
- citrus fruits
- berries
- bananas
- some cereals and breads
The demand for folate increases during pregnancy, and the easiest way to ensure you’re getting enough is to take a pregnancy supplement such as Elevit, which contains 800 mcg of folic acid, which is a form of folate.
Pregnancy increases your need for iodine because is is an essential nutrient for the growth and normal development of your baby’s brain and nervous system. Guidelines recommend that all pregnant women take an iodine-containing supplement throughout pregnancy to support the needs of their developing baby. Elevit contains 220 mcg of iodine.
The demand for iron increases during pregnancy due to a rise in your blood volume and the growth of your baby and placenta. Iron is important to help prevent dietary iron deficiency and has benefits for your baby’s development. While red meat is the best dietary source of iron, it can also be found in:
- fish
- chicken
- leafy green vegetables
- legumes
- enriched cereals
- supplements (Elevit contains 60 mg of elemental iron)
Elevit contains many of the important vitamins and minerals you need to help you meet your increased nutritional needs when you are pregnant.
Elevit contains the highest level of folic acid and iron of any pregnancy multivitamin in Australia*.
Together with a healthy diet, taking Elevit every day will help provide you and your baby with the nutritional support you need during your pregnancy.
*Compared to leading pregnancy multivitamins at August 2020.
You’ve read advice on:
What are the benefits of vitamin supplements for baby?
How you can help prevent neural tube defects
Nutrients that are particularly important for your developing baby
