This sheet talks about exposure to folic acid in a pregnancy and while breastfeeding. This information should not take the place of medical care and advice from your healthcare provider. What is folic acid? Folic acid is available as a nutritional supplement. It is the lab-made form of the vitamin folate (vitamin B9). Folate is necessary for making and maintaining healthy cells in the body. Many foods contain folate. These foods include dark leafy greens, asparagus, broccoli, avocado, beans, …
The Baby Blog: Vitamins & Supplements
Capsaicin
This sheet talks about exposure to capsaicin in pregnancy and while breastfeeding. This information should not take the place of medical care and advice from your healthcare provider. What is capsaicin? Capsaicin is the part of peppers (Solanaceae family, capsicum genus) that make your mouth feel hot. Capsaicin is generally recognized as safe by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in food and candy. Capsaicin is also the main ingredient in pepper spray used for …
Planning a Healthy Pregnancy
Tanya called in on a Monday morning. “I’m getting married in a few months and we want to start trying to get pregnant right away. What should I be doing now to have the best chance of a healthy baby?” Preconception health and pregnancy planning present a terrific opportunity to assess a wide range of factors that can give your baby the best start. This blog will outline the things to consider, as I relayed to Tanya: Your Personal Health Are you generally healthy? If you already get …
St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum)
This sheet talks about using St. John’s Wort in a pregnancy and while breastfeeding. This information should not take the place of medical care and advice from your healthcare provider. What is St. John’s Wort? St. John’s Wort is a flowering plant that is used as an herbal supplement. It is most commonly used to help mild or moderate depression. It is available as a tablet or capsule, liquid extract, tea, and as a cream or ointment, sometimes along with other herbal ingredients. There are …
The A.B.C.’s of Prenatal Vitamins
If you are researching prenatal vitamins, we are guessing that you might be considering a pregnancy, or you just found out that you are pregnant. How exciting! We’re also guessing that you have some questions. Pregnancy does that to a woman: it makes us start questioning the safety of everything that we used to take for granted. At MotherToBaby, we answer many types of questions about exposures during pregnancy and breastfeeding. But hands down, the most common question I’m asked about involves …
