- Your best nutrition comes from healthy whole foods (fruits, vegetables, whole grains) and lean meats eaten regularly. According to the American Dietetic Association (ADA), when you make good food choices during pregnancy and eat to meet your energy needs, the increased absorption and efficiency of nutrients is usually enough for a healthy pregnancy. But even a healthy diet may not have enough folate and iron to meet your pregnancy needs.
- Folate is probably the best known and most high profile pregnancy nutrient. Folic acid is the synthetic form of folate. It’s found in supplements and added to fortified foods. Folate and folic acid have the same nutritional value; they are a B vitamin that assists with creation of basic genetic material called DNA. Folate also helps produce red blood cells and is essential for both maternal and fetal tissue growth. Most important, folate reduces your baby’s risk of neural tube defects, such as spina bifida, which occurs during the first trimester of pregnancy when the spinal column doesn’t close completely
- A supplemental food, like iwannabemom, can supplement the nutritional gap as a wholesome and appropriate snack made from natural ingredients.
- The U.S. Public Health Service recommends that all pregnant take 400 mcg of folic acid a day in addition to your regular diet. The amount of folate you need increases once you conceive, but the American Academy of Family Physicians advises that you take from 400 to 800 mcg of folic acid, beginning at least a month before conception and through the pregnancy.
- The IOM, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and The March of Dimes all recommend that you take a daily folic acid supplement of 400 micrograms (mcg) before you’re even pregnant, so that from conception forward, your baby has enough folate. Furthermore, the IOM advises pregnant women to increase their intake to 500 mcg a day, and breast-feeding women should increase their daily folic acid intake to 600 mcg. You need the extra folic acid during pregnancy (even after the neural tube closes) and for nursing. As with everything in your diet, it’s best to eat a wide variety of foods. Folate can be found in fortified cereal, eggs, green leafy vegetables, citrus fruits like oranges, beans and peas (legumes) and wheat germ.
- Why all the fuss about folate? Supplementing with folic acid reduces the risk of neural tube defects. Check with your physician to determine your specific needs. iwannabemom is the most comfortable yet easy way to consume delicious folic acid
- Calcium is literally the framework of life. It is the most plentiful mineral in your body, found mostly in your teeth and bones. The National Institutes of Health recommends that pregnant women younger than 19 years old eat 1,300 mg of calcium daily (about four servings, equal to four cups of milk). Pregnant women age 19 to 50 years old need 1,000 mg of calcium a day (about three servings, equal to one cup of yogurt and three ounces of cheese).
- Calcium is crucial because it keeps your bones strong during pregnancy and provides for the skeletal development of your baby, as well as facilitates nerve impulses and the functioning of your baby’s heart and muscles. If you don’t get enough calcium in your diet during pregnancy, your baby won’t notice, but you will. Your baby will draw calcium straight from your bones, which ultimately puts you at risk for developing osteoporosis. Calcium-rich foods include milk and dairy products. If you don’t eat dairy products, you can take a daily calcium supplement. Some nondairy sources of calcium include spinach, broccoli, chickpeas, lentils, sweet potatoes and tofu. You can also find foods fortified with calcium, such as some brands of orange juice, cereals and even bread.
- Bellybar offers 500mg of calcium. Consume a pack of iwannabemom a day and fulfill your calcium need for whole day.
- So why are fatty acids so good? They are essential for cell function and cell life. Fatty acids help keep your cell membranes healthy and strong, so that minerals and molecules are allowed in and out of cells, but harmful chemicals or unwanted organisms (things like bacteria, viruses, molds and parasites) are kept out.The Omega-3 fatty acid, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), is of particular importance because studies indicate it may help lower your risk for depression, assist in your baby’s brain and vision acuity and even stabilize your newborn’s sleep cycles. Likewise, DHA is a key ingredient in breast milk and is now being added to some infant formulas.
- iwannabemom contains 50mg of Omega-3 DHA. One bar will get you on your way to healthy pregnancy.
- Iron is crucial for you, Mom-to-be. Iron is a key element in red blood cells and muscle. During pregnancy, your blood supply increases to support your growing baby. You need enough iron in your blood for your baby and to support blood loss during delivery. Without enough iron, you might develop anemia. Signs of iron shortage include fatigue, shortness of breath, dizzy spells, headache, irritability or weight loss. Severe symptoms include odd cravings for paper, clay, dirt or ice. Iron is best absorbed with or in food, for example eating meat or consuming foods rich in Vitamin C with meals leads to better iron absorption.
- The National Institutes of Health recommends that women age 19 to 50 include 18mg of iron in their daily diet. It jumps to 27mg of iron a day when you are pregnant, and then drops to 9mg a day of iron during lactation. Some good whole food sources of iron include: Lean red meat (especially beef), liver, dried beans, whole grains, iron fortified whole grain cereals and eggs (including egg yolks).
- Most women get 8 to 15mg of iron regularly through their normal diet. iwannabemom is therefore supplemented with 15mg of iron to help women achieve the necessary iron during pregnancy.
- Vitamin B6, also known as pyridoxine, aids your body’s metabolism of protein, fats, and carbohydrates. It also helps convert amino acids and form new red blood cells, antibodies, and neurotransmitters, and is vital to your fetus’s developing brain and nervous system. Research shows that the vitamin may relieve nausea or vomiting for some women during pregnancy, though no one knows for sure why it works.
- While you’re pregnant, you’ll need about 2.2 mg a day. Iwannabemom provides all Vitamin B6 you need for the whole day
