What nutrients do you need to supplement during pregnancy? Myths about nutritional supplements during pregnancy

It is often mentioned what nutrients pregnant mothers need to supplement, and folic acid, fish oil, calcium, DHA, zinc, etc. are nutrients that are often recommended to be supplemented, but you may not need to supplement some of them.

What good things should you eat when you are pregnant?

Do pregnant women need additional nutrients? This is a question that obstetricians and gynecologists are asked almost every day. Based on my many years of medical experience, the "popular" fetal nourishing ingredients among expectant mothers change every once in a while, such as folic acid, bird's nest, etc. Whether or not to supplement them is indeed a problem that worries many mothers. Let me help you solve this problem.

Folic acid

First, let’s talk about “folic acid” which is most familiar to expectant mothers. Folic acid has become a necessary nutrient for pregnant women because of a British study that found that a lack of folic acid in early pregnancy would increase the rate of neural tube defects in the fetus, so it is recommended that women who are preparing to become pregnant should supplement folic acid early.

However, the dietary culture of Chinese and white people is very different. We can easily get folic acid in our daily diet. For example, soups, vegetables and offal are rich in folic acid. The proportion of neural tube defects in Chinese babies is not high, so unless you have given birth to a baby with neural tube defects or the mother herself is taking epilepsy medication, there is no need for special supplements. Eating at least 300 grams of dark green vegetables a day is enough.

Fish Oil and DHA

Fish oil and DHA are both unsaturated fatty acids, which can reduce miscarriage, premature birth, improve maternal depression, and reduce the incidence of allergic diseases and cardiovascular diseases. There are many benefits, but what fascinates everyone is that supplementing DHA will make the baby smarter. In fact, there are only animal experiments on this part. The results of the experiment found that mice will run faster in the maze after eating DHA. It is also popular to eat avocados to supplement unsaturated fatty acids. Although avocados are plants, since they are fats, they still have calories, so they should be eaten in moderation.

【calcium】

Calcium supplementation is also a topic that has never faded. Calcium helps the baby's bone and tooth development, and can also improve some uncomfortable symptoms during pregnancy. The daily calcium intake of Chinese people is about 600-800 mg. It is recommended to supplement to 1200 mg in the early stage of pregnancy and 1500 mg in the late stage. About a cup of milk a day and one to two calcium tablets are enough.

【iron】

Iron supplementation is also very popular among female friends now, whether they are pregnant or not. The demand for iron increases after the second trimester of pregnancy. In addition to bleeding during childbirth, it is also necessary to provide iron for fetal development. Iron can prevent anemia. If the mother is anemic during pregnancy, it will inhibit the growth of the fetus. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to whether the iron intake in the diet is sufficient. For example, red meat, egg yolks, dried fruits, dark green vegetables, grapes, etc. are all good sources of iron.

[Pearl powder? Bird's nest?]

For expectant mothers, it is better to have a natural diet, which has reliable ingredients and safe sources, rather than strange and precious supplements.

Mothers often ask me whether pearl powder is good or not. Pearl powder is a beauty product handed down from Empress Dowager Cixi. It sounds amazing. It is said that eating it will make your skin whiter and your baby's skin will be better. In fact, the composition of pearl powder is the same as the stones in our body, which are calcium carbonate. Of course, eating it can supplement calcium.

Another popular tonic that is just as noble as pearl powder and is also commonly heard of is [bird's nest]. However, I think eating bird's nest is really like staging a great ethical and family tragedy, because bird's nest is the nest of swallows. It seems a bit strange to tear down someone's house to make tonic... However, if you can afford it and it doesn't make you feel uncomfortable after eating it, as a doctor, I will also respect the enthusiasm of expectant mothers for the matter of "tonic".

But I still want to emphasize again that one person eats and two people benefit. As long as you have a balanced diet, everything is so easy! Think about it, when our mothers and grandmothers were pregnant and gave birth, there were not so many supplements to eat, but they also gave birth to babies with strong heads, didn’t they?