New from Pregnacare - the UK’s No1 pregnancy formula, comes Pregnacare Plus dual pack, for even greater nutritional care for mother and baby.
Pregnacare Plus is the ideal formula for every stage of pregnancy from before conception, throughout pregnancy and whilst breast-feeding. The dual pack provides the original fully comprehensive multivitamin tablet, which delivers all the essential nutrients for pregnancy including the recommended level of 400mcg folic acid.
Each pack contains
28 x Pregnacare multi-nutrient tablets with 400µg Folic Acid
28 x Omega-3 Marine Oil capsules with 300mg DHA
Each Pack contains:
28 x Pregnacare
multi-nutrient tablets with 400µg Folic Acid
Pregnacare Tablets contain a careful formulation of 17 nutrients vital for both mother and baby.These include vitamin B12 and folic acid at the exact level recommended for the development of the unborn baby. Pregnacare tablets also contain minerals including zinc and magnesium plus B vitamins required for blood formation.
28 x Omega-3 Marine Oil capsules
with 300mg DHA
Pregnacare Capsules contain special high purity fish oil, which are a rich source of the important Omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA. DHA and EPA are especially vital during pregnancy as they are the building blocks of the baby’s eyes and brain. DHA is the most important fatty acid required for healthy brain and eye development of the foetus. Each Pregnacare capsule also contains 60 mg EPA, which helps to maintain optimum brain function and cell signalling.
One Pregnacare capsule per day provides
300 mg DHA, the level recommended by international experts in lipid nutrition* for pregnant and lactating women, plus 60mg EPA and 10mg AA.
The Importance of Omega-3 fatty acids
Adults can obtain DHA and EPA indirectly through the conversion of the essential fatty acid alpha-linoleic acid (ALA), present in vegetable oils such as linseed but this process is very inefficient. Fish oils provide a much more reliable, direct source of DHA, EPA and AA. The foetus and infant in early life need to receive these fatty acids directly as they only have a limited capability to convert essential fatty acids to more active long chain fatty acids such as DHA.
Brain and eye development
DHA is the predominant fatty acid in the central nervous system, found in the structural walls of brain cells. Amazingly, the foetal brain is made up of 60% fats of which 40% is DHA. There is a large increase in DHA uptake by the foetus and a corresponding increase in cerebal DHA content during the last trimester of pregnancy and the first post natal months.1,2 At birth the baby's brain weight is about 70% of an adult's brain weight; 15% of brain growth occurs during infancy and the pre-school years
DHA is important throughout this period of development.3 DHA is found in even greater concentrations in the retina, where it contributes up to 60% of the fatty acid content. Research has shown that when the growing baby receives DHA from the 3rd trimester onwards and during breastfeeding, circulating levels of DHA are higher, which can help to maintain healthy eye development and visual acuity (clarity of vision).4
The other Omega-3 fatty acid provided by Pregnacare Plus is EPA, which is required for optimal brain function and cell signaling (the process of communication between nerve cells) and becomes increasingly significant for children after birth in respect to areas such as learning ability and concentration. Pregnacare Plus also provides the Omega-6 fatty acid AA which plays both structural and functional roles in the brain.
Birth weight and oxygen delivery
A number of factors help to maintain a healthy infant birth weight including the mother's nutritional status, and Omega-3 fatty acid intake.5 DHA and EPA are known to help maintain a healthy cardiovascular system and can therefore contribute to the maintenance of a healthy placental blood supply to the growing foetus, providing the oxygen and nutrients required.6
Breast-feeding and Fatty Acids
Milk production during breastfeeding places a large physical demand on a mother's body. Additional protein, fatty acids, vitamins and minerals must be supplied from your reserves and the food you eat.
The quality of a mother’s breast milk is, to a large extent, dependent on her nutritional intake. A high intake of DHA leads to DHA rich milk7, which is essential for the infant’s neuronal development. When babies are fed on DHA rich breast milk it can help support their cognitive development, hand-eye co-ordination, psychomotor development and visual acuity.8
Maintaining Maternal Health
During pregnancy, the growing foetus and placenta can increase certain maternal nutritional requirements. As it can be difficult to maintain this requirement through diet alone, supplementation with Pregnacare is often recommended by midwives and health professionals to safeguard a mother's diet and replenish natural bodily stores.
Quality and purity
What the mother consumes has the potential to be passed on to the developing child, therefore only the purest pharmaceutical grade fish oil produced in Norway, has been used in Pregnacare Plus capsules. To ensure maximum benefit the oil is carefully concentrated to increase its DHA and EPA content and further purified. Each batch is rigorously tested, certified, and fully compliant with stringent EC and WHO rules on environmental pollutants.
Natural lemon oil is included in the shell of Pregnacare Plus capsules as an odour-mask for women who find it difficult to take fish oil supplements.
References:
1 Crawford M. Am J Clin Nutr 1993;57(Suppl):703S-9S
2 Singh M. Nutrition, brain and environment. Indian Pediatr 2003; 40 : 213-220
3 Singh M. Indian J Pediatr 2005; (3): 239-242
4 Carlson SE et al. Pediatr Res. 1996 May;39(5):882-8
5 Olsen SF, Secher NJ. BMJ 2002; 321:1-5
6 Swann PG et al. FEBS LETT 1989 Jan 30;243(2):244-6.
7 Fidler N et al. Nutr Metab 2000;44:187-193
8 Jensen CL et al. Am J Clin Nutr. 2005 Jul;82(1):125-32.
Available Jan 2007
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