15 Benefits of Vitamin A during Pregnancy (For Baby's Health)

One of vitamins which easily soluble in the fat is vitamin A. It is contained from retinal compound, palmitat retinil, and acetate retinil. Many sources can provide it, such as meat, milk, fish, egg, cereals, and some vegetables and fruits where its form is beta-carotene which will be converted to vitamin A inside the body. Some vegetables contain vitamin A such as carrot, red chili, spinach, beans, tomato, broccoli, and paprika.

For fruits, Vitamin A is available in apple, mango, grapes, papaya, banana, melon, water melon, and starfruit. Beside meats where are from chicken and duck, there are many protein sources which contain it such as chicken liver, cow liver, and sheep kidney. Fish is also a high level vitamin A contained, such as cakalang (signature fish cook from Manado), murrel, and tuna.

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Here is list of level of vitamin A contained in some foods material that pregnant women can take in their daily menu.

1. Chicken meat (810 IU)
2. Duck breast (210 IU)
3. Cow liver (18 IU)
4. Milk (47 IU)
5. Egg (520 IU)
6. Carrot (50% of 227 grams)
7. Red chili (952 IU)
8. Bayam (2 IU)
9. Beans (865 IU)
10. Tomato (833 IU)
11. Brocoli (623 IU)
12. Paprika (370 IU)
13. Apple (57 IU)
14. Grapes (100 IU)
15. Papaya (957 IU)
16. Banana (16 IU)
17. Melon (3.4 IU)
18. Watermelon (569 IU)
19. Tuna (2.5 IU)

Different dose of vitamin A is applied for each age. Baby ages 0 until 6 months needs 25000 IU (International Unit) of vitamin A total for four times supply in six months. When baby reaches age of 6 until 11 months, high level of it is needed for the liver growth because it must be bigger in size and has started the fuction of vitamin A back up inside the body.

They can be supplied with dose of 200000 IU (International Unit) for the total amount. The side effect are such as dizziness and nausea but they are just temporary. Baby with disease such as diarrhea and malnutrition needs higher dose compared with the healthy one. It is suggested to discuss with doctor first for the amount of dose and the supply frequent.

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It is better having vitamin A from high level contained vegetables and fruit rather form the suplemen pill therefore it is not consumed too much and consumed in the right dose. Here are some benefits of vitamin A during pregnancy:

1. Maintain well embryo growth

Embryo needs many vitamins which easily soluble in its growth and cell differentiation. Vitamin A which soluble into fat will be stored in the fat body and kidney then become the source for the embryo growth.

2. Fight infection

Vitamin A helps prevents infection to after born babies.

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3. Maintain skin health

Vitamin A combined with Vitamin E able to maintain moisture, softness, and elasticity of the skin. Skin will looks clean and glowing.

4. Helps growth of eye, heart, and ear cell

In the embryo growth, vitamin A support cell duplication for the form of eye, ear, and heart. Especially for the eye, if the embryo is lack of it, baby can born with blindness.

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5. Helping fat metabolism

Vitamin A is easily soluble in the body fat therefore increases the fat metabolism.

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Benefits of Vitamin A for Baby

Beside for the baby, like has been discussed before, pregnant mothers also get high benefits from enough vitamin A inside their body. These are some of the benefits of vitamin A during pregnancy and baby’s health.

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1. Helps tissue growth in postpartum

Mother will have broken tissue postpartum in their personal area. Enough vitamin A will help the healing and repair the tissue completely.

2. Increases possibility in normal birth process

Mother will be very vulnerable to infection during birth process. Vitamin A helps body to prevent the infection therefore mother has higher possibility to do normal birth. It is not about Caesarean operation is not good. It is a great process when the situation is not possible for the normal process. But with normal birth, mother can heal faster in postpartum and able to take care of their babies.

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3. Maintain normal sight

Retinol compound contained in vitamin A helps improve the sight for the mother during pregnancy and puerperium and baby’s eye growth.

4. Maintain body immune

Another form of vitamin A which usually contained in the vegetables, beta carotene, is a natural anti oxidant that able to prevent radical matter get into our body. Source of diseases such as bacteria, virus, fungi, and other pathogen will be prevented therefore body will be healthy.

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5. Prevent cancer

Because vitamin A contain beta carotene which is a natural anti oxidant, it also helps preventing cancer. One cause of cancer is free radical and beta carotene helps to reject it entering the body.

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6. Increasing scar healing phase

When mother delivers normal birth, there will be scar in their genital area. Vitamin A will help to heal it faster and prevents mother from losing too much blood.

7. For Recovery

Mother also needs high vitamin A to help them recover after the birth process and keeping them from diseases and infection due to losing blood during birth and entering the puerperium time.

8. Promote Healthy Body for Mother and Baby

By having proper dose of it for mothers and babies, the death of both of them can be reduce and giving the child good life chance in the future because they have the healthy body.

Indeed, there are many benefits of vitamin A during pregnancy for both mother and baby.

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Recommendation Vitamin A Intake

Vitamin A is really important for the pregnant women and the baby. It maintains health and prevents infection for mother and baby. There is certain dose of its consumption for best result. Therefore it is really important to measure how many micro grams of protein A which have been consumed every day.

1. During pregnancy time, mother who is nineteen years old and above is suggested consuming approximately 770 micrograms or 2565 IU (international Unit) of vitamin A for each day.

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2. For pregnant mother who is still under nineteen years old, she can consume it only for 750 micrograms or 2500 IU (International Units) for each day.

3. The different dose is applied for breastfeeding mother. When they are under nineteen years old, they can consume it for 1200 micrograms of 4000 IU (International Unit) per day.

4. For mothers whose age is nineteen years old above, they need more vitamin A for 1300 micrograms or 4000 IU (International Unit) in a day.

After delivering the baby, mother will enter the puerperium time which is time interval of approximate six weeks until the uterus’s size back to the normal. In this time, mother will lose much blood and need to be supplied with high level of vitamin A, even twice from pregnancy time to strengthen her health and immune.

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Cautions

Although vitamin A is really good for the pregnant mother and babies, but the consumed dose must be always monitored because if it is too much, the effect is fatal for the body. The baby can born with disability and liver toxicity of vitamin A. This toxicity is cause by too much consumption of its preform and also known as hypervitaminosis A. It is divided into two category, acute and chronic hypervitaminosis.

It happens when vitamin A is kept too long in the body. The effect of this toxicity is liver diseases and increment of brain pressure. Due to fatal effects from the unmonitored level of vitamin A, it is really suggested to consult with the doctor for the proper dose because every mother and baby actually has different requirement, based on their health record.

Mothers has fulfilled the required nutrition and one of them is vitamin A. It is really important and play significance role for the embryo growth until the baby is delivered. Enough vitamin A can make Baby born with good health, normal sight, good ear and heart, good bone health, and good immune body due to beta caroten contained in vitamin A is natural anti oxidant.

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