Have you just found out that you are expecting a baby? It is a well-known myth that pregnant ladies should eat for two lives. Though people do not take it in the literal sense, this is the biggest truth that has been carrying on for generations and generations. Though a pregnant female should not overeat, one must take care of the proper nutrition during these special nine months when a new life is growing inside of you. It is very easy to hog on all kinds of foods that you wish to eat, especially because you do not need to worry about the weight you gain.
Many a times it is seen that pregnant women get cravings to eat sweets and carbs and indulge in all kinds of junk food because they know that they can chalk down their growing weight to pregnancy. Did you know that a healthy pregnancy is that in which the mother gains only 9-10 kgs at the maximum, half of which is baby’s weight? A pregnant woman is more prone to be diagnosed with diabetes and hypertension if she is not careful of her health and such symptoms can be extended to her baby as well. This is why it is very important to keep a track of balanced diet when you are expecting., especially when it comes to the level of iron and folic acid in the food you eat.
How Does Iron And Folic Acid Help During Pregnancy?
Since your baby eats what you eat during these months of pregnancy it is very important to eat right and keep a well-balanced protein-rich diet. For example, if your diet lacks iron rich food, it is possible you may get anemia. Iron is one of the most important nutrients for a pregnant woman. As a recommended dosage, at least 27 mg of iron should be consumed per day by a pregnant woman. With mass-produced and preserved vegetables, you may not get the required amount of nutrients in your diet even if you eat healthily. As organic food is usually not possible to incorporate into one’s daily diet so easily, it is better to take iron and folic acid tablets as daily supplements to satisfy the need of the body for these essential nutrients.
It does not have to be a difficult and time-consuming feat to have a nutrition rich diet during pregnancy. Modern medicine has made the consumption of nutrition extremely easy with supplements like iron and folic acid tablets. In order to understand the importance of iron and folate-rich food during conception, one must understand what they do for your body and for the growing child inside you.
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Eliminates the Risk of Neural Tube Defect
Neural tube defect is a condition where the brain and the spinal column of the child do not develop completely. This defect is usually detected in the early months of pregnancy when an expecting mother does not get the required amount of folate and iron in their diet. Thus, by using iron and folic acid tablets as a daily dietary supplement, an expecting mother can eliminate the risk of underdevelopment in the child by providing the required amount of nutrients to the body.
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Develop Anemia and Other Types of Illnesses
Anemia is a condition where the body of the mother is weak and the immune system is not strong. If the diet of the expecting mother lacks the required amount of iron and folic acid in the daily diet, a mother may get affected with conditions like anemia. Not only the mother but this condition can be passed on to the baby as well. This usually results in the baby being born with a certain defect or the fact that the baby has weak immunity and will be prone to catching diseases.
It is very important to protect one’s child from the very start of conception. Since the body is generating another life form, it needs an added amount of nutrients to strengthen itself from potential threats and illnesses. Not only this, the growing life form inside a mother’s body is feeding on whatever the mother eats and drinks, thus the effects of an everyday diet – good or bad- are bound to affect the growth of the child as well. This is why taking supplements like iron and folic acid tablets in one’s daily diet apart from eating a healthy well balanced and protein rich diet is a good decision. These tablets can be found easily at the counter or via the internet at many websites and are extremely safe to ingest. By adding the required dosage of folic acid and iron in one’s diet through these supplements, you need not worry about the harmful effects of the lack of nutrients in one’s diet.
