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Are You Planning for Trimester Zero?

January 29, 2018

Preconception Prenatal Vitamins Preconception Prenatal Vitamins

Most women are familiar with the first, second and third trimesters. But many don’t realize that a critical stage of pregnancy actually occurs before conception takes place. This critical window is called trimester zero. If you are thinking of becoming pregnant, prenatal care and counseling should start during trimester zero, before a positive pregnancy test.

The first step in preparing for pregnancy is to truly evaluate and confirm your pregnancy intention.1 Bringing a life into the world is a major life-changing decision that should not be taken lightly. Financial, emotional, professional and lifestyle impacts of a baby should be considered and well thought out. How will a baby immediately impact your life? What would that look like in five, ten or fifteen years? Are support systems in place for you and the baby? You should discuss your options with friends, family and your partner.

Once you have confirmed your pregnancy intention and feel confident in your decision to try to get pregnant, there are a number of medical and lifestyle considerations to review. To help prepare for trimester zero it may be helpful to review the items below with your healthcare provider to help give your baby the best start in life and develop a preconception plan tailored to you.

Trimester Zero Preconception Considerations

Medical Considerations

  • Set up prenatal care visits with your healthcare provider1
  • Start daily preconception multivitamin with folic acid1
  • Identify a healthy weight1
  • Identify and address nutritional issues2
  • Establish optimal glycemic control for women with pre-gestational diabetes1
  • Confirm absence of sexually transmitted infections1
  • Assess mental health and absence of uncontrolled depression1,2
  • Determine immunization history2
  • Evaluate undiagnosed, untreated, or poorly controlled medical conditions2
  • Review medications, including teratogenic medications and radiation exposure1,2
  • Review family history and genetic risk2

Lifestyle Considerations

  • Eliminate tobacco, illegal substances and other high-risk behaviors1,2
  • Evaluate social impacts of pregnancy2
  • Evaluate occupational and environmental exposures2

Importance of Preconception Nutrition

It’s critical that you obtain the proper nutrients during trimester zero to build up reserves of essential nutrients. Once you are pregnant nutrient reserves can be depleted, as they are preferentially partitioned to support the needs of the baby.

Folate

Perhaps the most important nutrient during trimester zero is folate. Supplementation should begin at least one month prior to pregnancy to reduce the incidents of neural tube defects, such as spina bifida and anencephaly.3-5 Because the neutral tube closes so early in pregnancy, between days 14-28, building up folate stores before conception is especially important.6 High levels of folate have been shown to correlate to full-term pregnancies and healthier babies.7

Integrating food sources that contain folate is ideal. But the type of folate in your supplement is also important. Over 50% of women have a genetic mutation that impairs their ability to process folate.8-9 The Prenate® Vitamin Family offers a line of prenatal vitamins that contains traditional folic acid paired with a bioavailable folate that is highly absorbable. Each Prenate® vitamin meets or exceeds recommendations for daily consumption of folate.10

Iron

Iron is another important nutrient during trimester zero. The demand for iron increases steadily throughout pregnancy.11 In order to meet the increased iron intake requirements during pregnancy, maternal iron stores are drawn upon. In turn, this increases the risk for iron deficiency.12

Several Prenate® products contain a gentle and absorbable form of iron, called Sumalate®. This chelated iron has a 40% absorption rate, higher than other iron salts.13 It also allows for decreased gastrointestinal side-effects as compared to other forms of iron.13

Trimester Zero Prenatal Vitamins

Designed for the needs of both moms and babies, Prenate® Vitamin Family helps fill nutritional gaps to prepare women for pregnancy. If you are planning for pregnancy, talk to your doctor about trimester zero and preconception care. Your healthcare provider can identify a plan and prenatal vitamin that is right for your specific needs.

Preconception Prenatal Vitamins

Connect with Prenate®

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

WARNING: Accidental overdose of iron-containing products is a leading cause of fatal poisoning in children under 6. Keep this product out of reach of children. In case of accidental overdose, call a doctor or poison control center immediately.

WARNING: Ingestion of more than 3 grams of omega-3 fatty acids (such as DHA) per day has been shown to have potential antithrombotic effects, including an increased bleeding time and International Normalized Ratio (INR). Administration of omega-3 fatty acids should be avoided in patients taking anticoagulants and in those known to have an inherited or acquired predisposition to bleeding.

This site and its contents are an information resource only, and are neither intended to nor should be used in replacement of your doctor or other prescribing professional’s medical guidance, recommendations or advice. Neither this site nor its information should be used or relied upon for any diagnostic, medical, treatment, nutritional or other purpose. All aspects of pregnancy, including whether pregnancy is right for you, and the nourishment and care of your child, should be made with your doctor and other appropriate medical professional, and in consideration of your and your child’s particular medical history. Avion Pharmaceuticals, LLC (“Avion”) makes no representation, warranty or other undertaking that this site or its information are appropriate for you or your child’s specific needs or issues, and further expressly disclaims all damages, losses, injuries or liability whatsoever incurred or alleged to have been incurred in consequence of your reliance on the information on this site. Avion does not endorse any test, procedure, treatment, remedy, therapy, cure, nutritional regimen, method or other activity or undertaking that you and/or your doctor or other medical professional may elect or recommend. By visiting this site you agree to these terms and conditions and acknowledge that you have read and understand the same. These terms and conditions, together with any information on this site, may be amended, restated or otherwise changed from time to time and at any time by Avion within the sole, absolute and uncontrolled exercise of its discretion. You acknowledge and agree that Avion has no duty or obligation to keep you informed of any amendments to, restatements of or other changes to these terms and conditions or this site, and that you are solely and exclusively responsible for apprising yourself of the same.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

WARNING: Accidental overdose of iron-containing products is a leading cause of fatal poisoning in children under 6. Keep this product out of reach of children. In case of accidental overdose, call a doctor or poison control center immediately.

WARNING: Ingestion of more than 3 grams of omega-3 fatty acids (such as DHA) per day has been shown to have potential antithrombotic effects, including an increased bleeding time and International Normalized Ratio (INR). Administration of omega-3 fatty acids should be avoided in patients taking anticoagulants and in those known to have an inherited or acquired predisposition to bleeding.

This site and its contents are an information resource only, and are neither intended to nor should be used in replacement of your doctor or other prescribing professional’s medical guidance, recommendations or advice. Neither this site nor its information should be used or relied upon for any diagnostic, medical, treatment, nutritional or other purpose. All aspects of pregnancy, including whether pregnancy is right for you, and the nourishment and care of your child, should be made with your doctor and other appropriate medical professional, and in consideration of your and your child’s particular medical history. Avion Pharmaceuticals, LLC (“Avion”) makes no representation, warranty or other undertaking that this site or its information are appropriate for you or your child’s specific needs or issues, and further expressly disclaims all damages, losses, injuries or liability whatsoever incurred or alleged to have been incurred in consequence of your reliance on the information on this site. Avion does not endorse any test, procedure, treatment, remedy, therapy, cure, nutritional regimen, method or other activity or undertaking that you and/or your doctor or other medical professional may elect or recommend. By visiting this site you agree to these terms and conditions and acknowledge that you have read and understand the same. These terms and conditions, together with any information on this site, may be amended, restated or otherwise changed from time to time and at any time by Avion within the sole, absolute and uncontrolled exercise of its discretion. You acknowledge and agree that Avion has no duty or obligation to keep you informed of any amendments to, restatements of or other changes to these terms and conditions or this site, and that you are solely and exclusively responsible for apprising yourself of the same.

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