pregnancy

Pregnancy is a wondrous time for every expectant mother and their partner, and the best way to support and nurture new life is with optimal nutrition and a focus on overall health. 

Creating a healthy environment for your growing baby requires a wholesome diet and regular activity. 

Eating a balanced and nutritious diet is vital to meet baby’s developmental needs while supporting the mom-to-be with the energy and vitality needed to support new life.

Prenatal supplement support

A quality supplement like Biogen Pregnancy Pack Omega+ can offer added nutritional support at this critical period in both their lives.   

This comprehensive prenatal supplement helps support your wholefood diet, helping you meet a portion of your daily nutritional requirements during pregnancy in a convenient, easy-to-take dose. 

Biogen Pregnancy Pack Omega+ is a vitamin and mineral complex formulated for use before, during and after conception for added nutritional support. Available in a 30-day pack, each serving consists of three components:

  1. 1 multivitamin and mineral tablet
  2. 1 calcium tablet
  3. 1 omega 3 soft gelatine capsule

Each multivitamin and mineral tablet contains B-vitamins, vitamins A, C and E, folic acid, biotin, Inositol, iron, zinc, copper, and choline. Every calcium tablet includes calcium (from calcium carbonate), magnesium, vitamin D3, and vitamin K2, while each omega 3 soft gelatine capsule contains essential fatty acids (EFA) from fish oil, including docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA).

Each of these micronutrients fulfils a specific role in supporting a healthy pregnancy:

Crucial for the proper formation of various organs during early pregnancy, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, eyes, and bones. It also plays a role in bone growth and development in the fetus¹.

Involved in energy metabolism, ensuring the mother has sufficient energy throughout pregnancy. Vitamin B6 and B12 also play roles in red blood cell production, and B12 is crucial for the development and function of the nervous system². While research is ongoing, it’s believed that vitamin B7 (biotin) may play a role in healthy embryonic and fetal development³.

Developing babies require folate (vitamin B9) to reduce the risk of congenital abnormalities and birth defects related to the brain and spine (known as neural tube defects). A folate deficiency has been associated with abnormalities in mothers, causing conditions such as anaemia and peripheral neuropathy⁴.

As vitamin C enhances iron absorption, it is often beneficial to take iron and vitamin C together. It also supports collagen production, which is crucial for the healthy development of bones, cartilage, skin, and blood vessels.

Essential for optimal calcium absorption and also supports nerve, muscle and immune system function. This vitamin is also important to support fetal growth⁵.

Research ⁶ shows a link between pre-term births and zinc deficiencies, in which case a supplement may offer benefits.

Low iron levels during pregnancy can increase the risk for low birth weights. The body requires approximately 1,000 mg of iron for an average pregnancy⁷. Any expectant mom who suffers from medically-diagnosed anaemia – which can result from a poor diet, plant-based diets or poor absorption – may benefit from an iron supplement. It is important to determine the ideal level of necessary supplemental iron support in conjunction with your doctor. 

A deficiency of this micronutrient during pregnancy may lead to oxidative stress, which may result in reduced fetal growth. Copper has an important role in the production of collagen and elastin, and an insufficient amount of this element can lead to a reduction in the tensile strength of the fetal membrane, possibly resulting in premature birth⁷.

Choline is indispensable for neural tube formation, brain development, and the overall well-being of expectant mothers, rendering it a cornerstone of prenatal care. Inadequate choline intake is associated with neural tube defects, cognitive deficits in offspring, and maternal health complications⁸.

Your body needs iodine to create thyroid hormones, which are vital for energy production and normal brain and neural development in the fetus. A severe iodine deficiency can also lead to a thyroid condition known hypothyroidism, where the thyroid produces too little thyroid hormone, which can affect both mom and baby in various ways. As such, it is vital to identify and treat this condition early on in a pregnancy in conjunction with your doctor to ensure a healthy outcome⁹.

Calcium is needed to maintain normal muscle function in mom. As such, low calcium levels can cause muscle cramping and has been linked to high blood pressure, which can cause pre-eclampsia¹⁰.

Limited studies suggest links between magnesium inadequacy and certain conditions in pregnancy associated with high mortality and morbidity, such as gestational diabetes, preterm labour, preeclampsia, and small-for-gestational age or intrauterine growth restriction¹¹.

EFAs are important for nervous system and retinal development. DHA is a particularly important form during pregnancy for developing healthy nervous systems and eyes. Maintaining an optimal EFA intake after pregnancy will also ensure baby gets sufficient amounts from breast milk to support continued brain and nervous system development¹².

The best approach is to consult your doctor or OBGYN to devise a personalised nutritional plan that includes appropriate supplements where required. This will ensure both you and your baby receive the essential nutrients needed for a healthy pregnancy and beyond.

Pregnancy Pack – 30 Day

References:
  1. Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Nutritional Status During Pregnancy and Lactation. Nutrition During Pregnancy: Part I Weight Gain: Part II Nutrient Supplements. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 1990. 17, Vitamins A, E, and K. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK235251. 
  2. Ali MA, Hafez HA, Kamel MA, Ghamry HI, Shukry M, Farag MA. Dietary Vitamin B Complex: Orchestration in Human Nutrition throughout Life with Sex Differences. Nutrients. 2022 Sep 22;14(19):3940. doi: 10.3390/nu14193940. PMID: 36235591; PMCID: PMC9573099
  3. Ryusuke Takechi, Ayumi Taniguchi, Shuhei Ebara, Toru Fukui, Toshiaki Watanabe, Biotin Deficiency Affects the Proliferation of Human Embryonic Palatal Mesenchymal Cells in Culture12, The Journal of Nutrition, Volume 138, Issue 4, 2008, Pages 680-684, ISSN 0022-3166,
     https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/138.4.680.
  4. Greenberg JA, Bell SJ, Guan Y, Yu YH. Folic Acid supplementation and pregnancy: more than just neural tube defect prevention. Rev Obstet Gynecol. 2011 Summer;4(2):52-9. PMID: 22102928; PMCID: PMC3218540.
  5. Gallo S, McDermid JM, Al-Nimr RI, Hakeem R, Moreschi JM, Pari-Keener M, Stahnke B, Papoutsakis C, Handu D, Cheng FW. Vitamin D Supplementation during Pregnancy: An Evidence Analysis Center Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2020 May;120(5):898-924.e4. doi: 10.1016/j.jand.2019.07.002. Epub 2019 Oct 25. PMID: 31669079
  6. Ota E, Mori R, Middleton P, Tobe-Gai R, Mahomed K, Miyazaki C, Bhutta ZA. Zinc supplementation for improving pregnancy and infant outcome. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2015 Feb 2;2015(2):CD000230. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD000230.pub5. Update in: Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2021 Mar 16;3:CD000230. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD000230.pub6. PMID: 25927101; PMCID: PMC7043363.
  7. Grzeszczak K, Kwiatkowski S, Kosik-Bogacka D. The Role of Fe, Zn, and Cu in Pregnancy. Biomolecules. 2020 Aug 12;10(8):1176. doi: 10.3390/biom10081176. PMID: 32806787; PMCID: PMC7463674.
  8. Jaiswal A, Dewani D, Reddy LS, Patel A. Choline Supplementation in Pregnancy: Current Evidence and Implications. Cureus. 2023 Nov 8;15(11):e48538. doi: 10.7759/cureus.48538. PMID: 38074049; PMCID: PMC10709661.
  9. Delshad H, Raeisi A, Abdollahi Z, Tohidi M, Hedayati M, Mirmiran P, Nobakht F, Azizi F. Iodine supplementation for pregnant women: a cross-sectional national interventional study. J Endocrinol Invest. 2021 Oct;44(10):2307-2314. doi: 10.1007/s40618-021-01538-z. Epub 2021 Mar 11. PMID: 33704696.
  10. Hofmeyr GJ, Lawrie TA, Atallah ÁN, Torloni MR. Calcium supplementation during pregnancy for preventing hypertensive disorders and related problems. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2018 Oct 1;10(10):CD001059. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD001059.pub5. PMID: 30277579; PMCID: PMC6517256.
  11. Dalton LM, Ní Fhloinn DM, Gaydadzhieva GT, Mazurkiewicz OM, Leeson H, Wright CP. Magnesium in pregnancy. Nutr Rev. 2016 Sep;74(9):549-57. doi: 10.1093/nutrit/nuw018. Epub 2016 Jul 21. PMID: 27445320.
  12. Coletta JM, Bell SJ, Roman AS. Omega-3 Fatty acids and pregnancy. Rev Obstet Gynecol. 2010 Fall;3(4):163-71. PMID: 21364848; PMCID: PMC3046737.