By Reed Mangels, PhD, RD
The Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS), a division of the National Institutes of Health, recently posted a new fact sheet for health professionals, Dietary Supplements and Life Stages: Pregnancy, on the ODS website. This fact sheet provides a summary of current research and recommendations for vitamins, minerals, choline, and omega-3 fatty acids during pregnancy. Specifically, it addresses calcium, choline, folate/folic acid, iodine, iron, magnesium, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin A, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, vitamin D, and zinc. Sections are included on several botanicals (such as chamomile and raspberry leaf), and on nutritional considerations for twin and other multiple pregnancies, vegetarian and vegan diets, bariatric surgery, and sickle cell disease. This fact sheet could be a useful resource to share with your obstetrician or nurse midwife.
To read more about vegan diets in pregnancy see: