PREGNANT women are often prescribed to take prenatal multivitamins especially those with a high dose of iron necessary for fetus’ growth.

But the thing is, the multivitamins should also contain zinc in higher amounts. Most of the prenatal multivitamins don’t have zinc which is important during the growth and development of fetus.

Pregnant women should also be concern in B complex vitamins (B6, B12, and folic acid), which are critical for brain, spinal cord, and nerve development, and iron for blood and tissue development. So check out the multi your obstetrician prescribes to be sure it's well balanced.

Getting enough vitamin A (5,000 IU) early in pregnancy is critical for baby's development. But too much of it (more than 10,000 IU) of what's called "preformed vitamin A" can lead to birth defects.

To avoid exceeding the limit, add up the IUs of preformed A in any supplement you use, plus what's in any fortified foods (often including milk, cheese, and margarine).

To ferret out preformed A, check ingredients lists for vitamin A palmitate, vitamin A acetate, vitamin A esters, retinal acetate, or retinal palmitate. They all count toward reaching the Safe Upper Limit of 10,000 IU.

Don't worry about getting too much A in the form of beta-carotene. The body eliminates the vitamin A you don't need.