Vital substances during pregnancy

Folic acid during pregnancy – best taken as soon as you start trying for a baby

Maintaining an adequate supply of folate during pregnancy is enormously important. That’s because the B vitamin performs numerous important functions. For example, it helps with the growth of mother’s tissue and normal blood formation. Folic acid intake also plays a central role in maintaining mental health and keeping the immune system working properly. Another important function of folic acid is the part it plays in cell division; it also helps to reduce fatigue and exhaustion.

Folic acid flyer

• What is folic acid? A B vitamin (water-soluble)
• Folic acid requirement during pregnancy: * 550 µg folic acid equivalent per day
• Importance: Important for growth of the mother’s tissue during pregnancy, normal blood formation, normal mental function, normal immune function and normal amino acid synthesis. Folate also helps to reduce fatigue and exhaustion and has a function in cell division.
• Folic acid in foods: Leafy vegetables, wholemeal products, potatoes, pulses, dairy products, nuts, eggs

* Recommendation for pregnant women by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Ernährung (German Nutrition Society)

Women who are intending to or may become pregnant should, in addition to a diet rich in folate, take 400 µg synthetic folic acid a day in the form of a supplement to prevent neural tube defects. They should start taking the folic acid supplement at least 4 weeks before the onset of pregnancy and continue throughout the first trimester.

1 µg folate equivalent = 0.5 µg synthetic folic acid

Maintaining an adequate iodine intake is important for the child’s intellectual and physical development since one of the functions of iodine is to help keep the nervous system working properly and promotes a normal energy metabolism. Iodine also supports normal production of thyroid hormones and helps maintain normal thyroid function. The recommended daily intake is 230 µg iodine. Foods rich in iodine include sea fish, iodised salt and foods containing it as well as milk and dairy products.

The problem is that even if you have a balanced diet, it can be difficult to get the extra folic acid and iodine you need during pregnancy. So, taking folic acid and iodine supplements is recommended.

Iodine flyer

• What is iodine? Trace element
• Iodine requirement during pregnancy: * 230 µg per day
• Importance: Important for normal nervous system function, normal production of thyroid hormones and normal thyroid function as well as keeping skin healthy
• Iodine in foods: Sea fish, iodised salt, milk and dairy products

* Recommendation for pregnant women by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Ernährung (German Nutrition Society)

Calcium and Vitamin D are also vital substances that perform important functions during pregnancy. For example, calcium has a central role in maintaining healthy bones, helps to maintain vital muscle function and also has a function in cell division and specialisation.

Vitamin D is also needed to maintain healthy bones, as it supports normal absorption and processing of calcium and phosphate.

Calcium flyer

• What is calcium? Mineral
• Calcium requirement during pregnancy: * 1000 mg a day
• Importance: Important for maintaining healthy bones and teeth (for mother and child), helps to maintain normal blood coagulation and muscle function, also has a function in cell division and specialisation and is important for maintaining normal energy metabolism.
• Calcium in foods: Milk and dairy products, green vegetables such as broccoli or leeks, mineral water containing calcium

^* Recommendation for adults, pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers aged 19 and over by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Ernährung (German Nutrition Society)

Vitamin D flyer

• What is Vitamin D: Fat-soluble vitamin that can be produced by the body when the skin is exposed to sunlight (“skin vitamin”)
• Vitamin D requirement during pregnancy: * 20 µg per day
• Importance: Maintaining healthy bones and teeth, supports calcium absorption, has a function in cell division.
• Vitamin D in foods: Fish (e.g. sardines), offal, meat, milk and egg yolk

* Vitamin D requirement during pregnancy: 20 µg per day*

Iron is important for normal formation of red corpuscles and transferring oxygen in the body. It also contributes to normal cognitive function and normal immune function, and can also reduce fatigue and exhaustion. Pregnancy women should therefore take around 30 mg iron per day.

Tip: Taking food that is rich in Vitamin C together with a meal that contains iron (for example, a glass of orange juice with your muesli) improves the body’s absorption of iron. If blood tests over the course of the pregnancy show that haemoglobin (red blood pigment) levels are too low, the doctor will normally recommend taking an iron supplement.

Iron flyer

• What is iron? Trace element
• Iron requirement during pregnancy: * 30 mg per day
• Importance: normal formation of red corpuscles, transfer of oxygen in the body, reducing fatigue and exhaustion, cell division, energy metabolism, normal cognitive function, normal immune function
• Iron in foods: Meat, wholemeal products, vegetables, pulses

* Recommendation for pregnant women by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Ernährung (German Nutrition Society)