When it comes to pregnancy, we tend to go the extra mile to ensure our personal health and wellness. And because our modern, Western diets can leave gaps in our nutritional needs, many women have long-recognized the benefit that prenatal vitamins can provide for both mother and baby.
While the iron, folate, and calcium in your prenatal vitamin can help protect your child from the most common birth defects, adding a prenatal probiotic to your arsenal of motherhood must-haves can go a long way to help encourage the absorption of these nutrients, nurture your baby’s immune system, and support you in the face of common, uncomfortable roadblocks that can occur during pregnancy and postpartum life.
Why do I need probiotics if I already take a prenatal vitamin?
The nutrients from prenatal vitamins can be extremely beneficial for the growth and development of your child.
But did you know that babies are born with a mostly sterile gut?
They inherit their entire microbiome (their ecosystem of microorganisms that live in and on the body) from their mothers in the placenta and as they pass through the birth canal and begin to nurse.
The microbes they inherit through birth, breast milk, and skin-to-skin contact become the building blocks for their immune system, which is why it’s critical to inoculate infants with the bacteria needed to set them up for a lifetime of health.
Gut health has an overwhelming impact on lifelong wellness, and establishing it early is one of the most important things you can do for your baby. As such, taking both a prenatal vitamin and a probiotic can provide tremendous support for both mother and baby—during pregnancy and in the months that follow.
How do probiotics affect mother and baby?
Probiotics made with mothers in mind can help ensure that your baby receives lots of beneficial bacteria (as well as nutrients from your prenatal vitamin), which can build the foundation for healthier days ahead.
Once your baby is born and begins to eat, the beneficial bacteria and other microorganisms in your breast milk directly interact with your newborn’s saliva. It’s like a perfectly choreographed dance where you and your child’s bacteria are literally communicating with each other, telling one what the other needs to make in order to thrive.1
In addition, when your own flora is healthy and plentiful, your body can respond optimally to your baby’s signals. In other words, when you maintain a sufficient supply of beneficial flora, vitamins, and nutrients, you are more readily able to provide your little one with the precise concoction that his or her body is requesting.
Aside from supporting your child, probiotics can pack a positive punch for moms as well. A healthy balance of bacteria can support digestive health and discourage pregnancy-related constipation.
Probiotics can also encourage an ideal mental and emotional balance. And by supporting nutrition absorption, probiotics help your body naturally maintain the energy you need to feel your best both before and after your baby arrives.
How do I choose the right supplements?
From prenatals and multivitamins to magnesium and fish oil, there are a myriad of natural health supplements on the market that can benefit expecting and new mothers and their delicate gut flora. A recent study published in Cell Metabolism found that healthy fats like fish oil and other omega-3s encouraged the growth of beneficial bacteria. This study showed that fish oil combined with probiotics may even help counteract a diet high in greasy foods.2
The best way to get the most out of any of these supplements is to make sure that your body is properly absorbing them, and maintaining a bounty of probiotic colonies that are well-established within the gut can help you do just that.
Our powerful prenatal probiotic supplement is specifically formulated for expectant and nursing mothers. Hyperbiotics® Pro-Natal Probiotic is made with 8 unique strains selected for the benefits they provide to new mothers. It also includes kiwifruit powder—a superfood that can support digestion and regularity (a common struggle for expecting moms).
Probiotics are one of the top recommended supplements to take during pregnancy for many reasons, and our Pro-Natal Probiotic formula is the perfect partner for your prenatal vitamin.
References:
1. Cabrera-Rubio R et al. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2012;96(3):544-551.
2. Caesar R et al. Cell Metabolism. 2015;22(4):658-668.
