Pre-natal vitamins are very important for pregnant women. There are even some doctors who would prescribe the supplements for women who have plans on getting pregnant. Good prenatal vitamins should contain folic acid, calcium and iron on top of the Vit B complexes.
Folic acid is very important for the first month of pregnancy and for women who want to get pregnant. The folic acid lowers the chances of birth defects like the cleft palate, brain defects, and spinal defects. The US Public Health Service has actually recommended that all women who can get pregnant should take the follic acid along with their regular vitamins because of the research results revealing that most first pregnancies are unplanned.
Calcium is for bone density and can prevent osteoporosis. When pregnant, the fetus will get the calcium reserves from the mother and the mother can get depleted and can suffer from complications later on or after the birth of the child. A good source of the calcium is through milk specifically formulated for pregnant women and in vitamin supplements.
Iron supplements help fight against anemia. It is a well known fact that some women may not know that they are anemic and sometimes the pregnancy can cause the anemia. To prevent iron loss, iron supplements in the vitamins are encouraged. This will also prevent anemia of the fetus which is a dangerous condition for it. This can lead to low birth weight and it can also cause premature birth.
Of course, all these prenatal vitamins will not do any good if the diet is ignored. Eating proper amounts of green leafy vegetables like spinach and mustard greens is just as important as taking the iron supplements. The fresh fruit and vegetables also contain a lot of vitamin C; some beans are good sources of proteins and then the meats which are the main source of animal protein.
Lean meats without the fat and the skin are very important. It is also very important to remember that the pure form of fluids is water. Avoid the sports drinks that are actually filled with fizzy carbonations, sugar and chemicals for flavoring that actually contain a lot of purines which will lead to high levels of uric acid in the blood.