Zita West Vital Essence 3 - Third Trimester Vitamins & Minerals

In our view, even if you have a healthy diet – which many people don’t these days, given missed, hurried or convenience meals – you can’t always be sure you are getting the vitamins and minerals you need. Not least because intensive food production and processing have stripped many foods of a lot of their nourishment. In our opinion, a good multi-vitamin and mineral supplement is valuable during pregnancy, if only as an insurance policy.

No, you must maintain a good diet, especially one rich in carbohydrates, during the end of pregnancy. Carbohydrates will give you fuel for labour.

“RDA” is an abbreviation of “Recommended Daily Allowance.” The RDA was devised by the Dept of Health in the UK in 1979 to provide guidance on the intake of a limited number of specific vitamins and minerals that an average adult should have daily in order to avoid a deficiency that may lead to disease or general ill-health. Whereas this was, and remains, a useful benchmark for judging the contribution that any supplement may make to reaching those minimum requirements, it wasn’t intended to represent an indication of optimum intake. You will probably have noticed that many supplements, particularly premium priced ones such as Zita West's own, contain daily levels that are frequently many times higher than the RDA, sometimes substantially so. This is because the vitamins and minerals concerned have been set at therapeutic levels in an attempt to boost the body’s store of the nutrients concerned, often for a particular and limited period of time, the need for which can of course vary depending on factors such as general health, age etc. It is universally recognised that pregnancy, and preparing for pregnancy, for example, benefit from special attention to nutrition on the part of both partners. All of the formulations within the Zita West range are well within the Government’s guidelines for what represents the upper safe limit (USL) for long term daily supplementation of any given nutrient.

During the last trimester of pregnancy, the baby goes through a period of intense development called the brain spurt. At this time, your baby’s brain will take up 70% of your calorie intake and demand for DHA is greater than ever. Zita West strongly recommend that all their clients consider supplementing their DHA intake before and after this critical period.

Zita West recommend continuing to take prenatal vitamins throughout the third trimester. This is because there are still a number of nutritional requirements for your growing baby during this period, and taking these can support a balanced diet in ensuring your reserves are not depleted which is important going into your 4th trimester.

Most of a baby's Calcium is deposited in this trimester as his or her bones and teeth harden. The foetus takes up Calcium at the rate of approximately 350mg a day during this stage of the pregnancy, so it is good to have a plentiful supply to prevent it being scavenged from your own skeleton. There's plenty of Iron in Vital Essence 3, helping to support your immune system and production of red blood cells in preparation for the birth.

Vital Essence 3 also has good levels of Vitamin D and Vitamin B3 and Choline to help support the structural integrity of your cell membranes. All 30 nutrients in this supplement have been carefully selected for the role they play in the 3rd trimester.

Firstly, ensure you are getting all the essential nutrients, Zita West recommend taking Zita West Vital Essence 3. This supplement contains essential minerals and vitamins, as well as omega 3 fatty acids, which are important for your baby’s development.

Zita West also recommend Zita West Vital DHA, which contains omega 3 essential fatty acids (EFAs) plus zinc.

It is also important to remember to look after your mental health during the third trimester. While it is natural to feel excited and anxious at the same time, it is important to take time for yourself. A massage or a warm bath can also help you to relax. Zita West recommend Zita West Back Ease Massage Oil, a rich blend of essential oils includes jojoba oil which moisturises your skin without leaving an oily residue. Zita West also recommend Zita West Preconditioning Down Under from 34 weeks of pregnancy. This rich combination of natural plant oils into the tissues of the perineum daily to help keep the perineal tissue flexible, supple and elastic to reduce the risk of tearing and help to improve recovery time.

In the third trimester, your baby is growing faster than ever, which means you need to ensure that your diet is packed with quality nutrients during this period. Vitamins and minerals such as vitamin D, calcium, omega-3 and more are required to support your growing baby.

Supporting your diet with additional vitamins in supplement form can help support you and your baby. However, Zita West recommend taking a supplement formulates specifically for this trimester.

In the final phase of pregnancy, your child will grow faster than ever. The remaining weeks are vitally important for achieving full development.

Ensuring that your nutrient reserves are not depleted can help support both you and your baby in the final weeks of pregnancy.

Zita West recommend taking nutritional supplements, alongside a balanced diet up to birth and beyond. All of the supplements in our Trimester 3 Support Pack have been designed to support the needs of you and your baby during this period. The pack also includes Vitamin D, which is now recommended for pregnant people throughout their pregnancy.