Women planning on getting Pregnant are missing out on essential nutrients their babies need, according to an international study.
The study, which included New Zealand women, found nine out of 10 women had marginal or low levels of folate, riboflavin, vitamin B-12 or vitamin D
More than 1700 women in New Zealand, the UK and Singapore took part in the research.
“The implications of women having marginal or low vitamins are that they won't have come to any great harm to the women or their babies. That is the first important thing to say,” researcher Wayne Cutfield said.
“If they had very severely low levels, that's a different story.”
Most participants were on completely normal diets but were still low on nutrients found in meat and other dairy products.
Personal trainer Tai Correa needs a lot of energy to get through the day but has recently found it hard.
“There was nothing I could do to recharge even if I tried my best, even if I didn't do anything, sit on the couch or whatever, I just couldn't recharge,” she said.
She went to the doctor, who said she was low in iron and B-12 — she says her vegetarian diet was a factor, experiencing years of irregular periods,
“If I didn't look into it, maybe later would be too late, and maybe I wouldn't be able to get pregnant, so that shocked me.
“I was like, I don't want that to happen I would rather fix it now.”
Dietitians say it could be a bigger issue for vegetarians and vegans.
“It's very important before a woman's even trying to have a baby that they’re testing their vitamin levels to ensure that their eggs and their uterus and everything there is getting enough of the good stuff so they can then go on to have a healthy baby,” dietitian Hannah Eriksen said.
Correa ended up taking supplements to feel better.
“Now I know how I was feeling that tiredness wasn't normal, wasn't good at all.”
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