The Importance of Prenatal & Early Years Nutrition

We asked Henrietta Norton, one of the UK's most highly regarded nutrition practitioners, for her essential pregnancy and postpartum vitamin and nutrition advice. Norton, who also specialises in fertility and pregnancy, is the founder of Wild Nutrition, a natural supplement company whose products are sold in over 50 countries worldwide. Keep scrolling for her expert advice.

Being pregnant, going through labour and then breastfeeding a baby is hard on a woman's body, and it needs to be supplied with the nutrients to not only grow your child but replenish itself. The following list includes the vitamins and minerals that play a key role in supporting your baby's growth and development:

Folate Also referred to as folic acid, this is a vital supplement to incorporate into your diet during early pregnancy. Folate aids in cell growth and function and significantly reduces the risk of serious birth defects, particularly those affecting the spine, spinal cord and brain. The recommended daily dose is at least 600 micrograms during pregnancy.

Iron Our bodies require 27 milligrams of iron daily during pregnancy to prevent a deficiency. This mineral helps create more blood cells, which carry more oxygen to the baby.

Calcium This is the key to helping your baby build strong bones, teeth, muscles and nerves. Aim for 1,000 milligrams daily to ensure your baby is getting enough. If you don't supplement with calcium, your body will actually start to draw the mineral from your own bones and teeth! Always take calcium an hour after breakfast in the morning, as moving your body around and being exposed to sunlight during the day will help it be absorbed. Taking vitamin D and magnesium can also help with calcium absorption, and these supplements have added bonuses, like preventing muscle cramps and helping boost energy levels.

Vitamin D This vitamin is critical during pregnancy and while breastfeeding. Your body needs vitamin D to keep your heart, bones and teeth healthy, and your baby needs it for the same reasons! Vitamin D is also great at keeping your immune system strong. A daily measurement of 600 IU (International Units) is recommended.

DHA An omega-3 fatty acid, DHA plays a crucial role in your baby's brain and eye development. You need 200-300 milligrams per day.

Iodine This mineral helps promote your baby's brain and nervous system development. Iodine deficiency can be defined as the world's greatest single cause of preventable brain damage in infants, and unfortunately, it's not reversible. You should be getting 290 micrograms daily. For those that only use sea salt when cooking, you must either take an iodine supplement while pregnant and lactating or switch to ionised table salt.

Choline This dietary supplement is vital during pregnancy. It helps prevent neural tube problems and supports your baby's cognitive development.

Vitamin C This is a fantastic supplement for both mother and baby. There are many benefits, from tissue repair and wound healing to helping your baby's bones and teeth develop. This vitamin also aids with collagen production, helps bolster immunity and, to top it all off, improves your ability to absorb iron, another essential mineral.

During Pregnancy

When thinking about maternity vitamins, it's interesting to note that many of them work best together. When taken in unison, our supplements are often better absorbed. During pregnancy, some common symptoms are muscle cramps and a lack of energy. Calcium, vitamin D and magnesium can work together to help relieve some of these issues.

"Cheese, nuts, green vegetables and wheat germ all provide calcium and magnesium," says Norton, "and vitamin D is made in the skin, mostly from sunlight, but sometimes from oily fish and eggs, too."

These vitamins are pretty easy to consume naturally—just make sure to avoid unpasteurised cheese, as it may contain listeria that can harm your baby. Zinc, B vitamins, iodine and essential fatty acids also remain important throughout pregnancy.

During this stage, it's also essential to maintain a healthy balance of free radicals and antioxidants in the body. When this balance is off, our bodies become stressed. Dangerous free radicals can be disarmed with antioxidants like vitamin A, C and E, selenium, zinc and phytonutrients, all of which can be found in vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds.

"When considering how to choose pregnancy supplements, it’s also important to have safety in mind," says Norton. "For example, vitamin A must be in the form of beta-carotene, as retinol can be toxic to your baby. For this reason, avoid eating liver that can be high in retinol."

It's very important to conduct research on supplements before you take them, even if it's just to be aware of some mild side effects. For example, many women find they have to take iron supplements throughout their pregnancy, but it's also common for women to struggle with constipation during this time.

Unfortunately, iron supplements can sometimes cause these issues to worsen. In this case, Norton recommends boosting your iron stores with food that is naturally rich in iron, like dried fruits, nuts, seeds and lean red meat. Knowledge is power, and when you are well-versed in your supplements, you can make the right decisions for your body. Speaking with a nutritional specialist can also help.

During pregnancy, two things to avoid completely are caffeine and alcohol. While the removal of alcohol consumption is obvious, the dangers of caffeine are still relatively new to some expectant mothers.

That being said, new research from the British Medical Journal states that there is no safe level of caffeine consumption for pregnant mothers. Having reviewed 48 original observational studies, they found that maternal caffeine consumption was associated with an increased risk for four adverse outcomes: miscarriage, stillbirth, low birth weight and/or small for gestational age, and childhood acute leukaemia.

Post-Birth (Fourth Trimester)

Navigating nutrition post-birth can be tough. "Your body will have been depleted by pregnancy and labour, yet needs to be in peak physical condition for the challenge of nurturing an infant," says Norton. "You will need to support your body with a wide range of nutrients."

In general, extra antioxidants will nourish stretched skin and help damaged tissues recover from tearing or a caesarean. Iron supplements can help quickly replenish stores after blood loss, and calcium and magnesium will need to be replaced after having been used up during muscle contractions.

Childbirth can be a stressful experience, and B vitamins will help you regain a sense of calm and relaxation. These vitamins are often depleted during the high energy expenditure of birth, so peas, bananas, nuts and whole grain breads can help you restore them.

Postnatal depression can significantly affect a new mother, and cases range from mild to severe. Mental health support is often crucial, but a diet rich in zinc, vitamin D and essential fatty acids can also help protect against this type of depression. Recommended foods include red meat, eggs, beans, pumpkin seeds, salmon, sardines, mushrooms, fish oils, chia seeds, walnuts and spinach.

Many mothers will begin breastfeeding soon after giving birth. "Breast milk contains essential fatty acids," explains Norton, "so it's important to replenish these in your diet. They are needed for healthy hormone balance and to protect against fatigue, allergies and the memory loss and confusion often attributed to tiredness after birth."

Breast milk will provide your baby with gut-friendly bacteria that will make vitamin K once they have a fully populated digestive system. Formula-fed babies may benefit from infant probiotics and essential fats to protect their digestive systems from infection and strengthen their immune systems.

"By the time most couples conceive, their bodies are already low in many of the nutrients vital to make and grow a healthy baby," says Norton. "Fortunately, we know which nutrients are particularly important for conception, pregnancy and post-birth, so parents can choose foods that are rich in these vitamins and minerals.

It is also good to take a quality supplement, preferably in a food-grown form, to be sure that you are getting enough for your health and for your baby's optimum development."

Early Years

As your baby continues to grow, the early years are just as important when it comes to nutrition. According to a UNICEF report published last year, across the world, 5.6% of children under five were overweight. In Latin America and the Caribbean, the numbers were even higher, with 8.6% listed as overweight.

The World Health Organization (WHO) advises that, "At the individual level, people may be able to reduce their risk by adopting preventative interventions at each step of the life cycle, starting from pre-conception and continuing during the early years."

These preventative steps include:

• Ensuring appropriate weight gain during pregnancy
• Practising exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months after birth
• Supporting healthy behaviours of children around eating, physical activity and sleep, regardless of their current weight status
• Limiting screen time
• Limiting consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and energy-dense foods, and promoting other healthy eating behaviours
• Enjoying a healthy life (healthy diet, physical activity, sleep duration and quality, avoiding tobacco and alcohol, emotional self-regulation)
• Limiting energy intake from total fats and sugars and increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables, as well as legumes, whole grains and nuts
• Engaging in regular physical activity.

Growing children need plenty of energy (calories) and nutrients (protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals) to ensure they grow and develop well. A good appetite will usually ensure they get enough energy from the food they eat. However, research shows that in many countries, the diets of children under five are too low in vitamin A, vitamin C, iron and zinc.

Far too often, their diets contain too many of the sugars that contribute the most to tooth damage, along with too much salt, which can lead to higher blood pressure. Fortunately, in the Caribbean, children do not generally display the low vitamin D levels seen in northern hemisphere countries.

In general, the intake of meat, fish, vegetables and fruit among 1-4-year-olds is fairly low. An increase in these foods would help ensure that children have the right amounts of vitamins, minerals and other dietary components for healthy growth and development. Children who eat well and are active will likely be the right weight for their height.

"Eating is an important part of everyone's life," says Norton. "Encouraging children to eat healthily does not mean denying them food they enjoy. Healthy eating is about getting a varied, balanced diet and enjoying lots of different foods."