Why are calcium, iron, and folic acid each so important in a pregnant womans diet?
Folic acid helps prevent neural tube defects such as Spin bifida, and other birth defects. Iron is important for many reasons…You are creating a lot of new and extra blood and tissue that needs nourishing…Not just the baby, but the placenta and uterus too… Also a baby has to live on milk for much of its early life so it stores iron from you, in order to survive on a limited diet for the first year. Calcium is also important for your bones and muscles and the baby’s developing bones and muscles. A great book is Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Newborn; by Simkin Whalley & Keppler…I refer to it all the time for nutritional stuff, although it covers much, much more!
