Pregnancy

Pregnancy symptoms starts at 4 weeks. Normally you get your period about 4 weeks from the start of your last period, but if you're pregnant, the clearest sign at this point is a missed period. Many women still feel fine at 4 weeks, but others may notice sore breasts, fatigue, frequent urination, and nausea.

Pregnancy, or gestation, is a period of around 9 months when an unborn baby is developing in the uterus. The first sign of pregnancy is usually missed menstruation, but there are also other signs.

Folic acid is a pregnancy superhero!
Taking a prenatal vitamin with their recommended 400 micrograms (mcg) of folic acid before (Peri-Conceptional Period upto the end of First Trimester) and during pregnancy can help prevent birth defects of your baby's brain and spinal cord.

Category	Folate (Folic Acid) Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) For children under 1, only an adequate intake (AI) is available
0-6 months	65 micrograms/day Adequate Intake (AI)
7-9months	80 micrograms/day Adequate Intake (AI)
Breastfeeding women	500 micrograms/day

Vitamin B6 has diverse roles in the body, including nervous system function, red blood cell formation and function. Pyridoxal, pyridoxine, and pyridoxamine are three forms of the vitamin. The RDA for vitamin B6 during pregnancy is 1.9 mg/day. Vitamin B6 has been used since the 1940s to treat nausea during pregnancy. The results of two double-blind, placebo-controlled trials that used 25 mg of pyridoxine every eight hours for three days or 10 mg of pyridoxine every eight hours for five days suggest that vitamin B6 may be beneficial in alleviating morning sickness. Each study found a slight but significant reduction in nausea or vomiting in pregnant women. A 2014 pooled analysis indicates that supplemental vitamin B6 alone may be effective in alleviating nausea, but not vomiting, during pregnancy . Vitamin B6 at the above-mentioned dosages is considered safe during pregnancy, and the vitamin has been used in pregnant women without any evidence of fetal harm. Vitamin B6 was included in the medication Bendectin (a delayed-release formulation of 10 mg doxylamine succinate [an antihistamine] and 10 mg pyridoxine hydrochloride [vitamin B6]), which was prescribed for the treatment of morning sickness and later withdrawn from the market in 1983 due to unproven concerns that it increased the risk of birth defects .Since that time, several investigations have shown the combination of doxylamine/pyridoxine The tolerable upper intake level (UL) for vitamin B6 during pregnancy is 80 to 100 mg/day.

Vitamin B12

In humans, vitamin B12 is needed as a cofactor for two enzymes. One converts homocysteine to the amino acid, methionine. Methionine is required for the synthesis of S-adenosylmethionine, a methyl group donor used in many biological methylation reactions (76). DNA methylation that occurs during embryonic and fetal development modulates gene expression, cell differentiation, and the formation of organs . Thus, adequate vitamin B12 status during pregnancy is critical. Inadequate dietary intake of vitamin B12 causes elevated homocysteine concentrations, which have been associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes, including preeclampsia, premature delivery, low placental weight, low birth weight, very low birth weight (1,500 grams), small for gestational age, neural tube defects (NTDs), and stillbirth . Moreover, low serum concentrations of vitamin B12 during pregnancy have been linked to an increased risk for NTDs , and there is concern that folic acid supplementation during pregnancy may mask the clinical diagnosis of vitamin B12 deficiency. For these reasons, adequate vitamin B12 intake during pregnancy (RDA=2.6 μg/day) is important. To ensure a daily intake of 6 to 30 μg of vitamin B12 in a form that is easily absorbed, the Linus Pauling Institute recommends that women who are planning a pregnancy take a daily multivitamin supplement or eat a breakfast cereal fortified with vitamin B12 (for more information, see the article on Vitamin B12).

In 2010, the FNB of the Institute of Medicine set the RDA for vitamin D at 15 μg (600 IU)/day for all pregnant women. The FNB based this recommendation on a limited number of studies using bone health as the only indicator, assuming minimal sun exposure. Vitamin D, however, has a number of other roles in disease prevention and health (see the article on Vitamin D), and several vitamin D researchers believe that vitamin D requirements for adults, including pregnant women, are higher than the current RDA .
Moreover, a number of studies indicate that vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency are quite common among pregnant women. Low vitamin D status in pregnancy has been associated with an increased risk of adverse outcomes for both the mother and the infant. For pregnant women, vitamin D deficiency (serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D less than 50 nmol/L [20 ng/mL]) has been associated with an increased risk of preeclampsia and gestational diabetes.For infants, low maternal vitamin D status has been associated with an increased risk of preterm birth (birth before 37 weeks of gestation) and low birth weight (a newborn weighing less than 2,500 grams). A pooled analysis of 15 randomized controlled trials concluded that vitamin D supplementation raises serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D during pregnancy and may reduce the risk of preeclampsia, low birth weight, and preterm birth; notably, combined supplementation of vitamin D and calcium may increase the risk of preterm birth (107). Vitamin D is found in very few foods, and prenatal supplements often contain only 10 μg (400 IU) of vitamin D. Sunlight exposure is the main source of the vitamin: Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) is synthesized in skin cells following exposure to ultraviolet-B radiation. However, the contribution of sun exposure to vitamin D status depends on many factors, including latitude, skin color, amount of skin exposed, duration of exposure, and the use of sunscreens, which effectively block skin production of vitamin D. Thus, vitamin D supplementation throughout pregnancy is likely needed to achieve body concentrations thought to benefit fetal and maternal health. The Linus Pauling Institute recommends that generally healthy adults, including pregnant women, take 2,000 IU (50 μg) of supplemental vitamin D daily. Because sun exposure, diet, skin color, and obesity have variable, substantial impact on body vitamin D concentrations, measuring serum concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D — the clinical indicator of vitamin D status — is important. The Linus Pauling Institute recommends aiming for a serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level of at least 75 nmol/L (30 ng/mL).

Zinc

The RDA for zinc is increased during pregnancy (from 8 mg/day-9 mg/day to 11 mg/day-12 mg/day), and pregnant women, especially teenagers, are at increased risk of zinc deficiency. It has been estimated that 82% of pregnant women in the world may have inadequate intake of dietary zinc leading to poor nutritional status of the mineral. Poor nutritional status of zinc during pregnancy has been associated with a number of adverse outcomes, including low birth weight (2,500 grams), premature delivery, labor and delivery complications, and congenital anomalies.
However, the results of maternal zinc supplementation trials in the US and developing countries have been mixed . A 2014 systematic review of 16 randomized controlled trials found that zinc supplementation during pregnancy was associated with a 14% reduction in premature deliveries; the lower incidence of preterm births was observed mainly in low-income women . This analysis, however, did not find zinc supplementation to benefit other indicators of maternal or infant health. It is important to note that supplemental levels of iron (38 to 65 mg/day of elemental iron), but not dietary levels of iron, may decrease zinc absorption .
Because iron supplementation is often recommended during pregnancy (see Iron above), pregnant women who take more than 60 mg/day of elemental iron may want to take a prenatal or multivitamin-mineral supplement that also includes zinc .