Folic acid and co.: Do pregnant women need to supplement their diet? Expectant mothers should pay particular attention to certain micronutrients
What it's about:
During pregnancy, the need for some vitamins and minerals increases. On the one hand, the expectant mother herself needs higher amounts of certain micronutrients due to the profound physiological changes she is undergoing. On the other hand, the unborn child needs these nutrients for a healthy development. For the most part, the additional requirements can be met through a balanced and varied diet. However, pregnant women should take a few micronutrients in the form of supplements – one of them ideally even before becoming pregnant. Which one this is and to which of the others pregnant women should pay attention to has been summarised by the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment) on its information platform External Link:mikroco.info.
Many women aim to follow a particularly healthy diet during pregnancy in order to provide themselves, and above all their unborn baby, with all the nutrients they need. In fact, a varied and balanced diet, as recommended by the External Link:German Nutrition Society (in German), will ensure that most vitamin and mineral requirements are met during pregnancy. Folic acid is one of the few micronutrients that should be taken in the form of supplements, even before becoming pregnant and in addition to folate-rich diet. This reduces the risk of neural tube defects in the child – birth defects also known as "open back" or spina bifida.
However, other micronutrients such as the vitamins A and D and the minerals iodine and iron are also critical during pregnancy. The information platform External Link:mikroco.info provides short articles on the intake and supply of selected micronutrients among women in Germany. In addition, the platform explains whether or not taking supplements during pregnancy is recommended, and what pregnant women should pay attention to in order to avoid taking too much of certain nutrients, such as vitamin A.
In principle, according to the BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, pregnant women should be even more cautious than other consumers when taking food supplements, over-the-counter medicines or seemingly harmless natural preparations, and should not take them on their own without medical advice. Many preparations also contain ingredients whose effects have not always been thoroughly studied, especially with regard to pregnant women and unborn children.
Further information for pregnant women and on the subject of micronutrients
- The BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment information page for pregnant women To the page
- Info-website microco.info on micronutrient requirements during pregnancy External Link: To microco.info
About the BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment
The German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment) is a scientifically independent institution within the portfolio of the German Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Regional Identity (BMLEH). It protects people's health preventively in the fields of public health and veterinary public health. The BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment provides advice to the Federal Government as well as the Federal States (‘Laender’) on questions related to food, feed, chemical and product safety. The BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment conducts its own research on topics closely related to its assessment tasks.
About microco.info
The internet portal www.External Link:microco.info provides information on vitamins, minerals and numerous other substances that we ingest with food or that are offered as food supplements. In addition, the individual pages contain the maximum levels of vitamins and minerals in food supplements and in fortified foods as recommended by the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment).