Dear Moms-To-Be,
You are going on a journey. The journey of giving life! It’s exciting and stressful and breathtaking all at once. It can also be a confusing journey that raises all sorts of questions with answers that just lead to more questions. Questions like when do I start taking my prenatal supplement? Or when do I stop taking my prenatal supplement? Or when do I transition from my prenatal supplement to my once-a-day multivitamin? We can’t answer all the questions you have about the journey you’re going on, but we can help with those! In fact, we’ve put together the following nineteen-month timeline to help you chart your EarthFirst Organic Prenatal supplement journey. That said, we strongly urge you to follow the recommendation of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and consult your OBGYN or midwife to develop a full care plan for you and your little sprout.
Pre-Planning: Months 1-3
Otherwise known as preconception, it’s advised by institutions like the Mayo Clinic and ACOG that women generally start taking a prenatal supplement three months before becoming pregnant to ensure their levels of vitamins and minerals are adequate for fetal development. Because levels of folate and iron are typically lower in women, it’s especially important to increase levels of both through supplementation as early as possible to help protect against neural tube defects which can happen within the first month of pregnancy. Of course you’re not always planning to get pregnant, so how then do you know if it’s the right time to start taking your EarthFirst Organic Prenatal? The bottom line is you can start now. And should! There’s no harm in starting on a prenatal supplement now if you’re someone capable of becoming pregnant to make sure that when the time is right, you’ve got a headstart on a well-nourished life for your child. So yes, the first three months of our timeline are in a way arbitrary. But we’re all just doing the best we can. Right, Moms?
Pregnancy: Months 4-13
There’s a bun in your oven... a Joey in the pouch… a pea in the pod… you get what we’re saying. You’re pregnant! And you want to know a fun fact? You know how they say a human pregnancy lasts nine months? Wrong. Try ten. Ten months! That’s forty weeks. We’ll let you do the math if you don’t believe us. But how did we come to think of pregnancy as nine months? It’s because it takes a full menstrual cycle, which is 28 days on average, for most women to discover they’re pregnant. In that amount of time, the brain and spinal cord of the fetus has already begun forming, and you’ve given them some added support with the extra dose of folate and iron from the prenatal vitamin you started taking two months prior. So one month is gone without ceremony and we’re down to nine. Which is also why we’ve separated this part of the timeline into nine months.
So what are you doing in months 4-13 on the timeline? In short, exactly what you’ve been doing. Just keep taking your once-a-day EarthFirst Organic Prenatal. Packed with 19 whole food vitamins, your prenatal will continue to support your child’s development until the moment they arrive. Below is a shortlist of some of the many benefits provided to you and your baby via your EarthFirst Organic Prenatal during this period.
- Vitamin A supports maternal night vision where some women with a vitamin A deficiency experience night blindness. Vitamin A is also active in the development of your child’s eyes, bones, and organs, as well as bolstering your baby’s fetal immune system.
- B vitamins, like folate (B9) and cobalamin (B12), are integral in the development of your baby’s neural tube which houses their embryonic brain and spinal cord. B vitamins are also responsible for the production of red blood cells and DNA. For you, Mom, these vitamins help keep you energized and your stress levels regulated.
- Vitamin C boosts your immune system while assisting in the production of collagen and development of bones, skin, and teeth for your little one.
- Vitamin D supports proper absorption and metabolization of calcium and other minerals that are necessary for the development of your baby’s bones and facial structure.
- Iron in your prenatal supplement helps protect you from becoming anemic, which can cause certain organs to underperform, as well as in the reduction of oxidative stress, which can cut down on the amount of oxygen supplied to your baby’s developing cells. Additionally, iron is an essential mineral in fetal brain development, with iron deficiency posing long-term risks for a child’s education.
Postpartum: Months 14-19
Congratulations! You’ve reached the end of pregnancy and now your little bean is finally ready to break free from the mommy vine. But for the next six months, you’ll still be their best source of nutrition as their bodies work to catch up with the rest of the world. Through your breast milk, you’ll provide them with the majority of their vitamins A, C, E, various B vitamins, thiamine, choline, and riboflavin, as well as minerals like iron, calcium, magnesium, and iodine. Vitamins D and K are also delivered through breast milk, but in much lower quantities, so additional direct supplementation may be necessary to speak to your healthcare professional about. These nutrients continue to be essential for your baby’s physical and neurological development well past your pregnancy. In fact, research suggests that the difference between an adequate versus underserved supply of these vitamins during the first six months of life has a prolonged impact on a child’s ability to remain attentive and learn once they reach school age.
And your body, too, will require a boost in vitamins and minerals after what you’ve just experienced. Because of the amount of blood loss typical for a pregnancy, your iron levels are likely going to be significantly lower than at any other time in your life, and will often take months to recover. Without supplementation, you may experience serious fatigue and depression among other symptoms. Studies also show a relationship between low levels of vitamin D and postpartum depression. Thus, increasing your intake of vitamin D with your prenatal is likely to help prevent common postpartum blues from worsening. And because you’re giving away these vitamins and minerals to your baby through your breast milk, you need supplementation to ensure you have the reserves to share such necessary vitamins and minerals, and protect your little one from any deficiency disorders.
So again, change nothing! For at least the next six months, it’s recommended by healthcare professionals that you continue taking your prenatal supplement to ensure you and your baby are receiving a healthy supply of vital nutrients. Of course, like the first three months of our timeline, it’s fair to say that even this is arbitrary if you plan to continue breastfeeding well past six months. In which case, keep taking your EarthFirst Organic Prenatal for as long as you need to optimize the amount of vitamins and minerals coming and going from your body.
Time to Get Back to Your Roots
Look at you, Mom. Nineteen months ago, give or take, you were starting on an incredible journey to enrich your body and your world in preparation of both changing forever. To do so, you began taking your EarthFirst Organic Prenatal Multivitamin to give you and your baby a healthy, wholesome start at life together. But now that little one of yours is growing up and sampling tastes of all the fruits and vegetables and superfoods you started them on from day one. But where does that leave you on this journey of health and wellness? Going back to your roots, of course!
With the EarthFirst Organic Women’s Multivitamin, you’ll reconnect with your most grounded self. Why? Because the modern diet alone typically doesn’t offer all the nutrients women need. In fact, levels of iron are generally lower in women than men due to blood loss during menstruation. And because of consistent hormonal shifts happening throughout menstrual cycles, women experience fluctuations in levels of energy and metabolic rates. Studies suggest that women’s bodies oxidize less carbohydrates than men, meaning that they have less resources to spend on average. And considering the high level of activity in the daily lives of most women - especially for you moms with all the added demands of motherhood - it seems essential that you feel like the best version of yourself while also feeling the most natural. That’s what the EarthFirst Organic Women’s Multivitamin offers – a healthy supply of organic whole foods that carry and deliver vitamins and minerals to support you while you’re busy supporting your little one.
