Iron and folic acid supplementation during pre-conception and during pregnancy is very important for the health of both mother and baby in the future. Mom, please watch!
How do iron and folic acid affect the health of women and fetus?
Iron deficiency or folic acid deficiency lead to anemia.
Iron deficiency anemia increases the risk of pregnancy complications, increases the risk of infection for pregnant women, increases the risk of miscarriage and postpartum complications such as postpartum haemorrhage. Iron deficiency anemia increases the mortality rate for both mother and baby.
Take iron and folic acid supplements before pregnancy
Iron and folic acid deficiency anemia in fetuses can cause malnutrition in the fetus, which is susceptible to premature birth, underweight. In addition, anemia during pregnancy also affects the child's physical and mental development in the future, as well as affects the child's IQ.
Especially with folic acid, folic acid supplementation before and in the early stages of pregnancy will significantly reduce the rate of neural tube defects due to birth. Currently the World Health Organization recommends that every woman of childbearing age should get 400 mcg of folic acid per day to reduce the risk of neural tube defects in children.
Why is iron and folic acid needed before pregnancy?
Iron and folic acid supplementation is not only necessary during pregnancy, but also during pre-conception.
Because the iron requirement during pregnancy increases by 6 times normal, the body's iron stores are normally low due to monthly blood loss through menstruation, and even lower in pregnant women. Many times due to iron loss through previous births, so when preparing to have a baby you should take a daily iron supplement to provide enough iron reserves needed for the body.
Iron supplement before pregnancy
In addition to iron, you also need to supplement folic acid before pregnancy, because folic acid plays a role in preventing the birth of a heterosexual baby, but the neural tube is formed very early in the first 28 days of pregnancy. Pregnancy, this is the stage when we often do not realize we are pregnant, so the diet has not been given adequate attention. That is why the addition of folic acid in the pre-conception stage is extremely important ..
Principles of iron supplementation for pregnant women
To be effective synthetic iron should be used together with the best vitamin C .
Drink iron on an empty stomach 3 times a day, preferably 30 minutes before breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Absolutely do not use iron at the same time as calcium. Iron and calcium often hate each other, so pregnant mothers absolutely do not drink at the same time. Recommendations are made by health experts: the middle 3 months of pregnancy is the ideal time to supplement iron for pregnant women, the last 3 months will be suitable for taking calcium supplements.
Depending on the body's reaction to taking iron, pregnant mothers can change the time to take iron supplements accordingly: for example, with symptoms of heartburn, mothers should avoid taking iron before going to bed, in contrast iron drinking makes moms sleepy, before bedtime will be the ideal time to get more iron needed for the body.
How to supplement iron and folic acid?
Take folic acid supplements before pregnancy
Iron is found in oysters, livestock meat, poultry, dark green leafy vegetables, whole seeds, and beans to provide more iron. However, iron from food is very poorly absorbed by the body.
For folic acid, folic acid is found in animal liver and kidneys, green leafy vegetables, ...
But you should also note that folic acid is very easily broken down when processed and cooked
To provide iron and folic acid for the body, the diet should be varied containing both meat and green vegetables, juice or vitamin C also contributes to increase iron absorption. For subjects with high iron demand such as women, the daily diet cannot provide the necessary amount of iron for the body, so it is necessary to regularly supplement iron tablets, especially pregnant women and women. Women planning to become pregnant should start taking iron-folic acid supplements every day from 3 to 6 months before getting pregnant until 1 month after birth.
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