About Premama Prenatal + DHA
Prenatal + DHA by Premama claims to be a complete prenatal vitamin that has the added benefit of being a vegetarian friendly and DHA.
Features of Premama Prenatal and DHA
- Contains over 165mg of fatty acids including DHA and ALA to support the infant’s brain and eye development
- Traces of Choline to help reduce the risk of neural tube defects
- Gluten-free, non-GMO and vegetarian
- Prenatal vitamins with DHA in a citrus flavored drink
Ingredients of Prenatal + DHA
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin D
- Riboflavin
- Vitamin B6
- Folate
- Vitamin B12
- Biotin
- Choline
- Calcium
- Iron
- Magnesium
- Zinc
- Copper
- Omega-3 fatty acids
Benefits of Different Vitamins for Prenatal Women and Babies
Pharmacy shelves are stocked with various brands of prenatal vitamins, but several brands are marketed especially to new mothers. Filled with vitamins following giving birth, though, can help you recover from the physiological and physical effects of pregnancy and can even benefit the health of your newborn if you are breast-feeding.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Some women suffer from postpartum depression after giving birth. The November 2012 issue of “Canadian Journal of Psychiatry” reviewed numerous studies and found that there is a connection between omega-3 fatty acid deficiency and postpartum depression. Docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA, is one of the most beneficial omega-3 acids. It's passed on to your baby through your breast milk. The American Pregnancy Association recommends supplementing with 300 mg per day.
Vitamin B9
Vitamin B-9 or folic acid is the only vitamin that's usually lacking in women's diets in western countries. When pregnant, girls supplement with folic acid to aid in the creation of the infant's nervous system, but nursing moms may also continue to pass with this important vitamin to their newborns.
Folic acid has also been shown to alleviate the signs of postpartum depression. The U.S. Department of Health and Social Services recommends that breastfeeding moms supplement with 500 micrograms of folic acid every day.
Zinc Supplements
Pregnancy affects the way the body absorbs zinc, so new moms can often lack zinc. A study conducted by the Australian Maternal and Child Health Service found that new mothers who supplemented with zinc had enhanced energy levels while their babies had less incidence and seriousness of infant colic.
Consume at least 18 mg of zinc per day, if in vitamin form or via a diet of eggs, beef, whole yogurt and bread if you're breastfeeding.
Calcium
Women actually lose bone density in the first stages of nursing. Nursing mothers need 1,000 milligrams of calcium per day to support their bone health as well as their baby's growth. Dairy goods, uncooked vegetables, almonds and hazelnuts contain high doses of calcium, but if you cannot get your daily requirement through food, you will have to supplement with calcium-enriched foods like orange juice or through supplements.
Vitamin A
Vitamin A helps to keep wholesome skin, teeth, skeletal and soft tissue and promotes good eyesight. The need for vitamin A rises in new mothers to 1,300 micrograms every day. Women that are breastfeeding see a much bigger lack in this vitamin because it passes through their own breast milk.
You should be able to get most of the daily requirement from eating vegetables, carrots, fish and meat, but if you find that you're still deficient, then you should supplement with vitamin A pills.
Vitamin D
The best source of vitamin D is summertime sunlight on the skin. However, it's sensible to keep your child's skin safe in the sun. Children shouldn't be outside too long at sunlight in warm weather. Don't forget to cover up or protect their skin until it turns red or burns. It's important that young children still get vitamin drops, even when they get out from the sun.
Vitamin supplements containing vitamins A and C are recommended for infants aged six months to five years old, unless they are becoming more than 500ml (about a pint) of baby formula a day.
