There are several vitamins and minerals that you need in order to carry out a full and healthy pregnancy. They are necessary to feel your best and help your little one grow! There are a few that don’t get enough attention, and aren’t included in basic prenatal vitamins
My favorite way to get some of these nutrients are through real foods. Spoiler alert: It isn’t spinach!
Let’s take a look at the different vitamins and minerals that we need to give extra attention to during pregnancy.
*Disclosure: I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. This post may contain affiliate links while at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission.
What Vitamins and Minerals are Necessary During Pregnancy
Magnesium
Magnesium is one piece of the electrolyte trinity. Electrolytes help keep you hydrated as you drink all that water while pregnant! Magnesium is also responsible for cellular function and can help keep blood pressure lower.
It is also the answer for a few common pregnancy symptoms like insomnia, cramps, and constipation.
There are several ways to get magnesium. There are plenty of foods that have small amounts of magnesium. The easiest way to get adequate magnesium is epsom salt soaks or supplementation. I’ll take any excuse I can get to have a pregnancy bath!
I like this form of magnesium the most. There are a lot of different forms of magnesium but the chelated magnesium glycinate is said to have the highest absorption rate. This type also has less side effects, such as loose stools.
Vitamin D
Preeclampsia has been linked to Vitamin D deficiency, among other things. It helps to support fetal cell growth and healthy birth weight.
Vitamin D is essential for every day functions. The best way to get Vitamin D is from the sun, but unfortunately most people aren’t in the sun enough or use sunscreens that prevent absorption.
It’s also possible to get vitamin D from foods like egg yolks and liver. Vitamin D is also added to milk and other foods as well. Supplemental form is also an option.
Vitamin A
There is a lot of misconception and fear surrounding Vitamin A during pregnancy. However, low Vitamin A levels can be just as dangerous as high Vitamin A levels. Fetal tissue formation is also dependent on Vitamin A levels, and low Vitamin A can cause malformations.
It can help you heal faster postpartum and rebuild tissues. We need all the help we can get in this vulnerable period.
The scare around excess Vitamin A intake is largely surrounded by artificial forms of Vitamin A. It is best to get this vitamin from food sources in the form of retinol. The only food that contain retinol are animal foods.
Plant foods contain beta-carotene and are not absorbed as efficiently. You would need 12 times the amount of beta-carotene to get the same amount of Vitamin A from retinol
Liver is the only supplement you need in order to get enough vitamin A in your diet.
Calcium
Calcium is a main component of our bones. It is an important building block in the creation of our baby’s skeletal system. We also need to it keep up our skeletal health while supporting our baby. We don’t necessarily need extra during our pregnancy because absorption goes up.
It’s possible that low dietary calcium can also lead to pre-eclampsia. Starting the second trimester, it is a good idea to make sure you are filling this need. You can easily obtain calcium from dairy. I like to also use eggshells from my chickens to make calcium powder.
This supplement is my favorite, because it’s made out of real bone. It’s all natural and simple! One ingredient!
Iron/Copper/Ferritin
This one is sort of self explanatory but just as vital! Iron is essential in making red blood cells. When we go through pregnancy, we actually have a higher volume of blood. We need to create a whole other cardiovascular system for another tiny human, too! Plus, we lose a lot of blood during delivery and postpartum. This makes it imperative that we keep these levels high enough to help us through healing.
There are iron supplements that you can get, but it is hard to absorb in supplement form. You’re better off getting enough iron in your diet. Foods that are high in iron consist of red meat and eggs.
Choline
Choline is just as important as folate. It is vital in brain development. Enough choline may actually reduce the risk of preeclampsia.
The food with the highest amount of choline is egg yolk. If you can’t eat enough foods rich in choline, it is recommended to supplement. Most multi vitamins and prenatals vitamins don’t contain enough, however, so it’s a good idea to take a look.
Glycine
Glycine is an amino acid that helps make up collagen. It’s used to build connective tissues. Are bodies can make enough glycine UNLESS we are pregnant or sick. In that case, the need for glycine goes up.
It’s also been said that glycine may help with the prevention of stretch marks! That is reason enough to try!
We can find glycine in animal foods that also contain connective tissues. Think cartilage and tough cuts of meat. This may sound off-putting, but it could mean bone broth or a roast that has been cooked slowly enough to break down tissues.
I ended up supplementing with a powdered form of glycine as well during pregnancy just to make sure!
Sodium
You ABSOLUTELY need electrolytes during pregnancy and this is where sodium will come in handy. It will make you feel so much better to have enough salt when drinking all that water. It keeps your hydration in check, while helping your body utilize the water you’re drinking.
When I say salt, I don’t mean table salt though. Redmond’s Real Salt is my favorite. The flavor is so much better somehow. It’s also microplastic free!
Folate (NOT FOLIC ACID)
Conventional medicine likes to recommend that pregnant women get sufficient folic acid to prevent birth defects. However, folic acid is the synthetic form of folate. So why not just get the natural version first?
There is a good percentage of the population that can’t convert folic acid to its usable form. The caveat is that most people don’t know this applies to them. The MTHFR gene is responsible for the inability to process some vitamins and minerals. The test for this gene mutation is not prominent and you usually have to order it yourself and pay out of pocket.
Folate is found in eggs and liver. Plant sources of folate might look equal, but usually are less bioavailable. You can also find supplemental forms. It is important to make sure supplements are folate in the form of L-methylfolate.
Protein and High Quality Animal Fats
I know these aren’t vitamins and minerals, but they’re literally the building blocks of a human body. Water aside, protein makes up 77% of the placenta. DNA is a protein! 20% of the human body is protein, and proteins are in every single cell in the body.
How Much Protein Should a Pregnant Women Eat Per Day?
The RDA set in place is less than half what it should be for pregnant women. While in gestation, we should be consuming 1g of protein per pound of pre-pregnancy body weight.
This is super hard to do anyway, but if you are not eating animal proteins, it’s nearly impossible.
The Best Way to Include Vitamins and Minerals
Sometimes it’s easier and cheaper to take things in supplemental form. Some minerals are just as bioavailable, no matter what form they are in. Other vitamins are tricker to absorb when they don’t come from food
We’re often told that we need prenatal vitamins as an “insurance policy” and that just doesn’t make me feel safe enough.
I essentially used raw beef liver as a prenatal vitamin. I didn’t end up using a prenatal vitamin at all. If you decide to go this route, don’t blindly follow me, but do your own research. Lily Nichols has a fantastic book that explains in depth, all the reasons that you should be including various nutrient dense foods that usually are stigmatized as being unsafe for pregnant women and unborn babies.
What Is The Best Food To Eat During Pregnancy?
It is fast becoming more evident the crucial role that animal proteins and organ meats play in prenatal health. During pregnancy, it’s essential to get good quality animal protein with plenty of animals fats to help support a growing fetus.
Liver should be incorporated into everyone’s diet, but most importantly during pregnancy. If you can’t fathom the idea of downing liver, you can try desiccated liver capsules.
Read more about why pregnant women should be eating Raw Beef Liver
What’s the Best Prenatal vitamin For Conception?
Although it’s true that you want to have all these vitamins and minerals incorporated pre conception, that may not be the reason you can’t conceive. If you’re having trouble conceiving, look at getting more animal proteins and fats into your diet. These are the building blocks of human life, and without them, we may not have enough resources to sustain a new one.
Hormones are made from cholesterol. The process of creating life is completely driven by hormones. We need animal fats in order to create all the hormones needed to drive conception and gestation. Animal foods are the best prenatal vitamins for conception.