Planning Pregnancy

Planning Pregnancy

Start Your Healthy Pregnancy Now

The choices you make now, before you become pregnant, are important to your baby's health.
One of those choices should be to start taking a prenatal multivitamin containing folic acid even before you are pregnant.

Why Prenatal Multivitamins Are Important

If a woman doesn't get enough folic acid, her baby has a higher risk of developing a type of birth defect called a neural tube defect (NTD).
What are NTDs? NTDs are birth defects that occur very early on in pregnancy and can lead to abnormalities of the skull, brain, and spinal cord. In Canada, the most common of these abnormalities is spinal - a condition known as spina bifida.
These conditions can occur as early as the first three to four weeks of the baby's development, a time when many women don't even realize that they are pregnant.
One way to help prevent NTDs is to make sure you get enough folic acid. While folic acid can be found in some of the foods you eat, most Canadian women don't get their recommended daily allowance, much less the extra folic acid they need during pregnancy.
Did you know Health Canada recommends that all women who could become pregnant-as well as those who are pregnant or breastfeeding - take a multivitamin containing 0.4mg of folic acid every day? As well the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada, also recommends women with no personal health risks take a daily multivitamin with 0.4 mg to 1.0 mg of folic acid at least 12 weeks prior to conception, throughout pregnancy and 4 to 6 weeks postpartum or as long as breastfeeding continues. Women with increased health risks such as epilepsy, insulin dependent diabetes and family history of neural tube defects may require a higher dose of folic acid and should consult their doctor.
It is important to choose a multivitamin especially formulated for use during pregnancy.
There is recent evidence that taking a prenatal multivitamin before you become pregnant can also help prevent other conditions in your baby, such as leukemia and childhood tumors.

When to Start

Women should begin taking a prenatal multivitamin at least twelve weeks before becoming pregnant. Since about half of all pregnancies are unplanned, starting a prenatal multivitamin now may be one of the best things you can do for your future child.
Your baby's good health starts with you.

Folic Acid or a Multivitamin?

There are many good reasons for taking a prenatal multivitamin instead of just a folic acid supplement.

Folic Acid Supplements

• help prevent neural tube defects

Prenatal Multivitamins

• help prevent neural tube defects
• help prevent low birth weight and prematurity
• help prevent iron deficiency anemia
• help maintain maternal bone health
• help prevent vitamin D deficiency

Studies have shown that Canadian women who increased their intake of folic acid reduce the rate of NTDs in their children by more than half. Because of this, Health Canada recommends that all women who could become pregnant take a daily multivitamin containing folic acid.
In addition, researchers at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children found that women taking a multivitamin with folic acid before pregnancy helped to protect their babies from some of the most common types of childhood leukemia and tumors.
What you do today can help keep your baby healthy tomorrow.

The vitamins and minerals you need during ALL stages of pregnancy and breastfeeding

Starting prenatal vitamins before you get pregnant prepares your body for your future pregnancy.

Before Pregnancy

The extra folic acid in Centrum® Materna® helps to prevent birth defects involving your baby's skull and brain. Since many of these defects occur before a woman even knows she is pregnant, women who are thinking about having a baby should start taking a prenatal multivitamin like Centrum Materna at least twelve weeks before conception.

During Pregnancy

During pregnancy, a woman's need for many essential nutrients increases. For example, her body needs extra iron to help maintain a healthy placenta for her baby. Women who don't get the extra iron they need are at risk of developing iron deficiency. Each Centrum Materna tablet contains 27 mg of iron, the recommended daily allowance of iron for pregnancy, in a convenient once-daily dosage.
Some women experience stomach upset when taking prenatal vitamins that include iron. Some other simple things you can do to make it easier to take the pill include taking it with food or taking it just before bed.
Some women also have difficulty swallowing tablets. Breaking the tablet in half or crushing it and then mixing the powder into a drink should make it easier.

After Pregnancy

After pregnancy, Centrum Materna provides both calcium and vitamin D to help meet a breastfeeding woman's needs.
Centrum Materna has the extra vitamins and minerals your body needs before, during, and after pregnancy.
One pill for all stages of pregnancy: Centrum  Materna, complete from A to Zinc

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