March 21, 2019

During preconception and throughout pregnancy, it’s critical for you to obtain recommended amounts of key nutrients for your health and the health of your developing baby. A healthy intake of calcium, vitamin D, folic acid and iron help to ensure proper dietary balance. However, keeping track of these nutritional requirements can be difficult and time consuming. Luckily, there are many excellent nutrition apps that can help.

Essential Nutrients to Support Pregnancy

First, let’s take a look at some of the key nutrients that may support positive pregnancy outcomes:

• Folic Acid – Increased folic acid intake is recommended during all stages of pregnancy.¹ Green leafy vegetables are perhaps the most commonly known dietary sources of folate, the naturally occurring form of folic acid.¹ The recommended folic acid intakes for women during pregnancy is 600 mcg dietary folate equivalent (DFE); while breastfeeding, it is 500 mcg DFE.¹
• Iron – Iron is one of the most important nutrients for both pregnancy and overall health, and can be consumed through a variety of foods including meats, vegetables, fruits and grains.² It’s recommended that pregnant and breastfeeding women who are between the ages of 19 and 50 should obtain 27 mg of iron.²
• Calcium – Calcium is available from a variety of dietary sources, most notably milk and other dairy products.³ It’s recommended that pregnant and breastfeeding women who are between the ages of 19 and 50 obtain 1,000 mg of calcium.³
• Vitamin D – Vitamin D is not found in abundance of dietary sources; for this reason, many foods are fortified with it.⁴ It’s recommended that pregnant and breastfeeding women consume 600 IU of vitamin D.⁴

While this is just a sample of the most critical nutrients to support pregnancy, there may be others that you should discuss with your healthcare provider.

Benefits of Mobile Nutrition Apps

There are a variety of nutrition applications available for download on your devices. Some of these programs are free, while others offer enhanced features for an additional fee. A nutritional app will help you track what you eat on a day-to-day basis and calculate your nutritional intake. Here are some of the reasons that you should consider using a nutrition app to track your daily intake of vitamins, minerals and nutrients:

• Save time – Once you have set up the app with your unique characteristics, keeping track of your nutritional intake is greatly streamlined. Just enter your meal information and the app does the math for you. These apps can help keep you focused on your day and eliminate time spent calculating intakes at each meal.
• Get real-time and historical data – These features can help you identify nutrients that you may be lacking. You can then adjust your meals or snacks to hit your targets.
• Take it anywhere – Nutritional apps are mobile if used with your smartphone. Whether you’re at restaurant or eating a snack in the office, you can keep your nutrition app right at your side.
• View comprehensive information – Keep all of your stats in one place, in one app. This allows for a more detailed understanding of your body’s overall nutritional needs.
• Share information with your healthcare provider – A wave of information is at your fingertips, and can easily be shared with your healthcare provider. This promotes greater understanding and synergy as you progress through preconception, pregnancy and breastfeeding. You and your healthcare provider have reliable and comprehensive information about your nutritional status.

Help Meet Your Needs with Prenatal Vitamins

Even with the help of a nutritional app, many women find it difficult to obtain the nutrients they need during pregnancy from diet alone. Incorporating a prenatal vitamin can help fill nutritional gaps and support the growth and development of your baby. The nutritional forms in the prescription prenatal vitamins offered by the Prenate^® are selected for their tolerability and absorbability. Plus, they are formulated with the latest recommendations from obstetric and pediatric organizations in mind. Talk to your doctor to see if the Prenate^® Vitamin Family’s prenatal vitamins are right for you.