Prenatal supplements fall woefully short in providing crucial nutrition during pregnancy – and most women don’t even know it
If there’s one thing doctors agree on, it’s that all of their pregnant patients should take prenatal supplements.
- If there’s one thing doctors agree on, it’s that all of their pregnant patients should take prenatal supplements.
- But even though they’re crucial for the health of mother and baby alike, prenatal supplements are unregulated.
- There are no rules that require these supplements to contain any nutrients at all, let alone the appropriate doses.
Folate
- Folate, which lowers the rate of birth defects by 50%, is the central reason why prenatal supplements were developed.
- But folate only prevents birth defects when it’s taken prior to the 28th day of pregnancy.
- That includes 400 micrograms of folic acid – a synthetic version of folate – from their daily prenatal supplement.
Omega-3 fatty acids
- One of those additions, omega-3 fatty acids, serve as building blocks for the construction of the fetal brain.
- New guidelines recommend that pregnant women who don’t routinely eat enough omega-3 fatty acids should get 600-1,000 milligrams of omega-3s daily.
- However, patients who eat fatty fish twice weekly – this can be salmon, mackerel, herring, sardines or anchovies – may only need an additional 100-200 milligrams daily of omega-3s during pregnancy.
- But most Americans don’t eat two servings of fatty fish weekly.
Choline
- With the exception of organ meats, like beef liver, few foods have enough choline to meet that requirement.
- But apparently, almost none do: 95% of pregnant women consume inadequate amounts of choline, and more than half of prenatal supplements have no choline.
- Another found that some of the effects of fetal alcohol syndrome may be mitigated with quadruple the recommended level of choline.