Vitamins for Women: Role of vitamins during pregnancy

Sources of vitamins 

Vitamins for Women 

Everyone needs vitamins and nutrients for good health. Some people take vitamins through diet and some take it in other ways. The use of vitamins is important and cannot be ignored.  Men and women have different nutritional needs.  Women need more vitamins at one age.  Women need more nutrition than men.  

The need for nutrition changes in different stages of a woman's life. All kinds of nutritious food and diverse diet are very important for a woman.  A woman has to go through various stages of her life like puberty, menstruation, pregnancy, childbirth. For which she needs extra vitamin intake. At any stage, a specific group of vitamins is needed to keep healthy and active. Pregnant women need more vitamins than other women.  For these changes in life, a woman needs proper care and a healthy diet, which can provide all the necessary nutrition for the body.

Although all vitamins are essential for healthy life, the following vitamins are very important for women:

Vitamin B12 

Vitamin B12 has play vital roles to create DNA, to nourish the brain and nervous system ;and to assist for formation of healthy red blood cells. 

It is an important vitamin which helps to convert your food into glucose and helps to generate energy in the body.  A woman needs a lot of energy for her body. It boosts your metabolism and keeps you healthy and active.

Vitamin B12 deficiency in the early stages of pregnancy of woman increases the risk of neural tube birth defects and low birth weight. Deficiency of vitamin B12 also may cause miscarriage or premature birth.

There is more probability to have child with birth defects if mother has low levels of vitamin B12 during pregnancy. 

Folic acid 

Folic acid is a kind of vitamin B called folate. 

If a woman is thinking of getting pregnant or is pregnant, she needs folic acid.  This is very important for pregnant women.  This vitamin play important role in the production of red blood cells and reduces the risk of neurological problems in brain and spinal cord and any other chronic disease.  This vitamin is very important for a woman and her baby to keep them healthy. 

In context of embryonic development, baby's brain and spinal cord starts to develop early stage of pregnancy. So, it is important to begin to have folic acid regularly from early stages of pregnancy. There is more probability of occurring birth defects within 3-4 weeks of pregnancy. 

In absence of proper amount of folic acid in mother's body during pregnancy, baby's neural tube may not close correctly and they could develop neural problems called nural tube defects. 

These include:

• Incomplete development of the spinal cord or vertebrae called Spina bifida

• Incomplete development of major parts of the brain called Anencephaly

The daily requirement of folic acid for all women of child-bearing age is 400 mcg. For fourth to ninth months of pregnancy women need 600 mcg daily.

Taking recommended dose of folic acid during pregnancy may also protect baby against:

• Lip and palate cleft

• Premature birth

• Low birth weight

• Miscarriage

• Poor growth in the womb

Vitamin K 

More women than men die of heart attacks and other heart diseases.  Vitamin K plays a vital role to reduces the risk of heart disease and keeps the heart healthy.  That is why every woman should include vitamin K in her diet.  It increases bone strength and also facilitates blood circulation.

Vitamin K deficiency may lead to hemorrhage in mother and baby. Haemorrhage occurs due to reduce levels of prothrombin which depends on vitamin K during blood coagulation. As blood clotting take long time excessive bleeding takes place both in mother and baby.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is vital to regulate the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body. It is well known fact that calcium and phosphate are needed to keep bones,teeth and muscles healthy. 

So, vitamin D is one of the most important vitamins.  It boosts and protects your immune system.  In addition, it makes you stronger physically and mentally.  Many women are suffering from vitamin D deficiency. It is thought that  vitamin D deficiency can also increase the risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes and asthma.  To be healthy, women need to take 10 mcg of vitamin D every day.

Human bodies make vitamin D through exposure of skin  to sunlight.