Supplements for an Easier Pregnancy and Postpartum Period

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Vitamins and Supplements for Pregnancy and Postpartum

During pregnancy, most of us know it is vital to take a high-quality prenatal vitamin, but there are a lot of other vitamins and supplements for pregnancy that can help you to have a healthier and easier pregnancy and postpartum.

The requirement for some vitamins and minerals is so high during pregnancy that you need to supplement with a great prenatal vitamin.

Through the study of epigenetics (studying how what the mother eats and her pregnancy behaviors can actually turn certain genes on or off in the womb) we now know that there are other vitamins and minerals that are not typically included in your prenatal vitamin, that some women may have trouble getting in high enough amounts through there diet and should be taken as supplements during pregnancy as well.

In addition, there are some great supplements that can just help make pregnancy a whole lot easier! Like things that help to ease nausea for instance. In this article, we will detail herbs and supplements safe and recommended for pregnancy that cover all these bases.

**This post probably contains affiliate links to items that I own and love and am confident will benefit you immensely. Please read full disclosure here. I am not a doctor, please see your trusted practitioner for any medical advice and before taking new supplements. I am just a mama with a whole lot of health and fitness knowledge.**

First Let’s Cover Prenatal Vitamins

First and foremost, let’s cover prenatal vitamins. There’s a great chance you already know (and probably are taking) a prenatal vitamin.

Not all prenatal vitamins are alike. Some contain naturally sourced nutrients that are easily absorbed by the body. Others contain cheaper artificially created alternatives to naturally sourced nutrients that some women can absorb and others cannot.

Eek, does that mean that there’s a chance that you are not even absorbing the precious folic acid that is known to prevent neural tube defects as well as other congenital deformities when taken early in pregnancy? Yes, that’s exactly what it means.

Naturally sourced folate vs. laboratory created folic acid (that 40% of women can’t absorb at all) isn’t the only artificial nutrient you need to look out for on your labels when picking a prenatal vitamin, but it is a highly important one!

Learn a ton more about the difference between folate and folic acid for pregnancy.

What amazed me when searching for a prenatal vitamin the right way for my third baby, is that the naturally sourced vitamins are not that much more expensive than the cheap ones I used to pick up at Walmart! Ritual Essential Prenatals aren’t much more expensive at least, plus they come right to your door every month.

When looking for a prenatal vitamin you want to be sure that they contain:

1. Iron
2. Folate
3. Iodine
4. Vitamin D
5. Vitamin B12
6. Omega 3 Fatty Acids

It is also best to find naturally sourced forms of these vitamins and nutrients because your body absorbs and utilizes them much easier than their artificial counterparts. I adore Essential Prenatal Vitamins and will personally take nothing else because they contain all the nutrients required for pregnancy, AND are naturally sourced!

Essential Prenatals even go as far as to tell you exactly where they source each of their ingredients from. A kind of transparency you rarely find within a vitamin company that is a standard we really should hold all of our vitamin companies to!

RELATED: What You Should be Doing Before Conception to Have the Best Pregnancy

Supplements to Ease Nausea and Constipation in Pregnancy

Almost every pregnant woman experiences some level of morning sickness. Here are tons of great ways from top mommy bloggers all around the world of how they combatted morning sickness.

For each woman, and for each subsequent pregnancy, the experience can be very different. But you will probably suffer from at least some level of nausea and constipation during the first trimester.

I find nausea to be one of the most all-encompassing pains (at the top of my list with headaches). It’s really tough to function while nauseous at all!

Nausea during pregnancy is believed to be caused by hormonal fluctuations, but there are still lots of things you can do to alleviate the problem.

Ginger Capsules

Pregnancy nausea can be very intense. And calling it morning sickness give women the idea that they’ll fell nauseous in the morning and that is it. False! I like to call it “all day any time it wants sickness.” Because in reality it can strike at any time of day and last the entire day!

While munching on ginger candies is really helpful, you can take your ginger intake to a new level known to improve morning sickness. Ginger is one herb that is safe during pregnancy and known around the world to alleviate all types of stomach discomforts!

You can take ginger in capsule form. According to WebMD the proper dosage of ginger in capsule form for morning sickness is 500 to 2500 mg of ginger daily in two to four divided doses for 3 days to 3 weeks has been used.

I love these ginger capsules. They are the best price and from a trusted company. Plus each capsule contains 550mg ginger root, so it is easy to start your dosage at the recommended 500 mg and work your way up as needed.

Vitamin B-6

A wonderful only moderately well-known way to treat morning sickness is taking a good dose of vitamin B6! B6 is known to be perfectly safe for the baby.

B6 can drastically help to take away the all-encompassing nausea of morning sickness. Just be sure you are taking a high quality supplement like this one because not all forms of B6 are equal when it comes to treating morning sickness.

“A typical dose of vitamin B6 for morning sickness is 10 mg to 25 mg, 3 times a day.

Talk to your health professional before you take vitamin B6 for morning sickness.

Intake of more than 100 mg a day of vitamin B6 can cause temporary nerve damage,” according to U of M Health.

I personally take my B6 in a B complex supplement with a hefty dose of B6 (different B complexes contain different percentages of each B vitamin) to help take away morning sickness as well as give an exhausted mommy a little boost of energy.

Digestive Enzymes

When suffering from morning sickness, every little change to your stomach seems to aggravate it.

Ate one bite of something a little too sweet? You’re nauseous. Went too long without a snack? Nauseous. Didn’t get enough protein yet today? Yup, nauseous again.

It seems that any little thing can trigger that nauseous feeling.

During pregnancy, I am always voracious. And if I am hungry for too long at all (too long being about 5 minutes) I get nauseous. So my stomach needs to be fully satiated after my meals during pregnancy. However even being too full, can once again cause nausea!

If you are someone who suffers from stomach discomfort after eating a large meal as I do (which is why typically I eat tons of small meals throughout the day, but pregnancy requires bigger meals for me personally) or certain types of food (think meat maybe) digestive enzymes can be a huge help!

During my third pregnancy my digestion felt so sluggish, and yet I was always hungry. Having 2 types of digestive enzymes on hand was an absolute life-saver! These Mega Digestive Enzymes were an absolute lifesaver after a big meal like dinner, especially during that first trimester!

Betain Hcl with Pepsin was great as well. When I was having less discomfort from just a regular small meal the Betain Hcl worked perfectly, and when my stomach was really bothering me I would take both.

Having 2 types of digestive enzymes (Mega Digestive Enzymes and also the Betain Hcl) have been phenomenal for aiding in the sluggish pregnancy digestion.

Smooth Move Tea

Another trigger for intense pregnancy nausea is constipation. Pregnancy constipation (especially in the first trimester) is thought to be caused by those raging hormones once again.

Once you get backed up, your nausea will increase. It is best to keep your digestive system in tip-top shape during pregnancy to ease those nauseous feelings.

While some laxatives are controversial and not recommended during pregnancy, according to multiple OBGYNs I’ve personally asked, senna tea is perfectly safe to take during pregnancy!

Having chronic problems in this venue, I was so relieved to find something that worked so well and was safe to take during pregnancy! If you feel constipation setting in try a delicious cup of Smooth Move Senna tea to get things moving again.

I recommend taking it before bed. Personally, senna tea causes some discomfort if I take it during the day as things get moving, during the night I don’t even notice.

Smooth move tea is a lifesaver for constipated mamas and I never am without some in my pantry!

High-Quality Liver- Supplement

It is very important to increase your iron intake during pregnancy to the recommended 27 grams per day. During pregnancy, your blood volume is almost doubled, so you need a lot of iron to accommodate the creation of all those new red blood cells to take care of the baby.

Red meat is very high in iron. Actually, liver is even higher in iron, far more than anything else. If liver is something that you can stomach it can be extremely helpful in growing a healthy baby.

If the idea of eating liver, or even meat, makes your stomach turn (which it probably will especially in the first trimester) consider taking a high-quality liver supplement.

You get all the naturally sourced iron that you would get from the fresh liver, as well as a good dose of:

•  Vitamin A
• B12 for energy
• CoQ10
• Choline
• Folate
• Hyaluronic Acid
• Bio-Available Heme Iron
• copper
• zinc
• chromium.

(This is assuming you opt for a grass-fed beef liver supplement like this one, the one I take, because they have the highest nutritional density, are  naturally derived nutrients sourced from real foods, and the lowest if any pesticide residues.)

RELATED: 5 Foods You Should Definitely Be Eating Every Day During Pregnancy and Why

Chlorella

During pregnancy and while breastfeeding detoxifying your body is generally not recommended. While detoxing is great to do under normal circumstances to flush out all the toxins and junk we come in contact with every day, if you detox during pregnancy the flushed out toxins can go into baby.

The same can happen if you detox during breastfeeding as the toxins may then enter your breastmilk.

The only safe form of detoxing during pregnancy is taking a regular dose of chlorella.  It is recommended to begin taking chlorella as soon as you can during pregnancy.

Chlorella is a high-quality energy boosting supplement known to detoxify heavy metals and chemical pollutants from the body. It also helps to regenerate the body’s tissues and even contains:

• potassium
• calcium
• magnesium
• iron
• zinc
• selenium
• chlorophyll

It is safe and recommended to take chlorella during pregnancy of about 6g per day. You can take it easily in supplement form.

Or you can buy chlorella in powder form and add it to your smoothies.

Typically I add it into my smoothies (I like chlorella mixed with spirulina because it also contains vital essential nutrients for pregnancy) but I also keep gelatin capsules (like these) on hand for when my stomach is being queasy from pregnancy and the flavor of the greens is just too much. That way I can just create my own capsule and not taste the greens.

Whether you opt for chlorella tablets or capsules or loose chlorella, it is definitely something you need to be taking during pregnancy!

Wrapping Up Supplements You Need for Pregnancy

There are a lot of wonderful supplements that you can take to help make your pregnancy easier which may lead to an easier postpartum.

Plus many of these supplements are naturally derived nutrients that are required in high amounts to grow a healthy baby more than we ever knew!

More Pregnancy Resources from Vigor it Out

• 8 Foods to Snack on for a Belly Only Pregnancy
• Why You Should Exercise During Pregnancy and Exactly How to Do it
• Things I Was Shocked to Find I’d Desperately Need for Pregnancy

Vitamins and Supplements for Pregnancy

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