Importance of Prenatal Nutrition in the First 1,000 Days

Category: Healthy Body

The first 1,000 days – the period between conception and a child’s second birthday –
is a unique window of opportunity to enable all children to reach their full potential.

It is the time of rapid development of the brain, the body, and the immune system, and nutrition provides the fuel that drives a child’s early development.

This statistic is shocking - An estimated 149 million children under the age of five are developmentally stunted due to chronic malnutrition during the first 1,000 days.

This makes them susceptible to life-threatening diseases and infections.

This global crisis requires action and investment in the nutrition and well-being of all pregnant, birthing, postpartum, and parenting people and their children in the first 1,000 days, with a focus on the most disadvantaged.

According to thousanddays.org, the US has one of the highest infant mortality rates and maternal mortality rates of any wealthy country and ranks among the worst among its peers in key child health metrics:

• 1 in 10 babies is born prematurely

• 1 in 6 babies is never breastfed

• 1 in 8 toddlers is overweight

• 1 in 7 households with children is food insecure

The table below shows the main vitamin and mineral shortfalls during pregnancy according to the US NHANES Survey Data.

Approximately 1/3 of pregnant and lactating women in the U.S. are at least marginally iodine deficient.

Although most pregnant and lactating women take supplements, only 50% of prenatal supplements in the U.S. contain iodine.

Pregnant women also need at least 27 mg of iron daily, which is double the amount needed by women who are not expecting. The additional amount is necessary to make more blood to supply the baby with oxygen.

Getting too little iron during pregnancy may lead to anemia, resulting in fatigue and an increased risk of infections.

Even if you're already eating a well-balanced diet, you can never be sure of how much nutrients you're getting because food processing and preparation can strip some of the nutrients from the ingredients you use.

That's why most doctors recommend that women who are pregnant, planning to become pregnant, or are currently nursing add high-quality supplements to their daily regimen.

A good prenatal supplement program should have all the vitamins and minerals in the table above, plus omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA.

In our wellness webcast, The Science Behind Prenatal Nutrition, Dr. Bruce Daggy unpacked a newly-published piece from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition examining whether the supplements currently available in the U.S. market meet the necessary standards for prenatal use.

They focused on 6 key nutrients that are known to be very important to pregnancy and found that a significant number of pregnant women are not getting enough of these key nutrients.

Nutrient deficiencies in pregnant woman:

• 95% not getting enough vitamin D

• 34% weren't getting enough folate

• 30% lacking adequate calcium

• 83% didn't have enough iron intake

• 50% not getting enough omega 3

Out of the 12,651 dietary supplements in the government database that they examined, all contained at least 1 of the 6 key nutrients. Of those, 391 were specifically labeled as prenatal.

Look at what they found!

Most supplements had only 1 key nutrient meeting the desired levels and only found 1 that contained all 6 at target levels.

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

Let that sink in for a moment!

391 were listed as prenatal yet only 1 actually had all the nutritional requirements needed for pregnant women.

If you or someone you know is looking for a prenatal, this 2-minute video is a great help.

For an in-depth discussion on prenatal nutrition and supplementation, watch the whole replay here.

Thanks for reading!

Jerry