iron supplements

This year, you have decided to do everything in your power to stay healthy; you take more veggies and fruits, do more exercises, ditch sugar and other highly processed foods and even had to swap somethings for healthier alternative and that’s great. But, every other day, you still pop some birth control pills which may be depleting the amount of essential vitamins and nutrients in your body. This alone can potentially undo every effort you have been putting in to stay healthy. Sadly, for so many women, this is a reality as they must be on birth control pills.

The truth remains that even with various methods of contraception, oral contraceptives seems to be the most accessible, affordable and commonly used form of birth control.

Almost 17% of Nigerian women are on birth pills. Definitely every woman that uses these pills are aware of what they are capable of, but not all know that these birth control pills can alter how nutrients are used by the body, thereby leading to possible deficiencies.

Birth control don’t only increase the risk of vitamin deficiency, they also may be draining your body of essential nutrients needed for mood, cognition, and cardiovascular health.

HOW DOES BIRTH CONTROL PILLS AFFECT NUTRENT AVAILABILITY

There are 2 major ways in which OCPs result in nutrients depletion.

Firstly ,the work of OCPs is to introduce artifical hormones into your body, when this happens, there would be more hormones for your liver to deal with, meaning there would be need for more nutrients for your liver to carry out its functions

Secondly, OCPs has the tendency to distort your intestinal walls. When this occurs, less nutrients are absorbed and available for utilization

This is not to scare you, it’s just for awareness. You can still be on birth control pills, but be sure to supplement on prenatal vitamins (especially those ones that tends to be depleted ) as you’re on the “pills”

For a few important vitamins, lets discuss how birth control pills affect them:

– BIRTH CONTROL AND VITAMIN D DEFICIENCY

Vitamin D is important for maintaining the immune system and calcium levels and also serve as a hormone. As adequate calcium is essential for bone health, vitamin D is also essential for bone health.

According to a new study published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, birth pills with estrogen are seen to lower vitamin D levels. This can be adjusted by increasing exposure to sunlight which can improve vitamin D levels by 20% in women on oral contraceptives.

Vitamin D deficiency is associated with pregnancy complications such as preeclampsia, a condition characterized by high blood pressure and kidney and liver disorders. It also increases the risk of childhood disorders, such as type 1 diabetes and asthma.

It is important to supplement on vitamin D and also incorporate vitamin D rich food sources into the diet if you would continue with birth control pills. Examples of vitamin D rich foods include: Fatty fish, like tuna, mackerel, and salmon, Foods fortified with vitamin D, like some dairy products, orange juice, soy milk, and cereals, Beef liver, Cheese, Egg yolks

BIRTH CONTROL AND VITAMIN B DEFICIENCY

Vitamins such as B6, B9, and B12, play an important role in maintaining normal functions of cells and nerves. Their importance in the body cannot be overemphasised as deficiency of any of these B vitamins can lead to depression, anemia, and poor cognitive functions.

Furthermore, B vitamins are also paramount for normal health and development of the fetus as well as neurological development too.

BIRTH CONTROL AND FOLATE DEFICIENCY

For example, research has proven a link between oral contraceptive pills and low blood folate levels.

Also, research also has it that oral contraceptive may increase the risk of cervical cancer, and a folic acid supplement may prevent or slow down this risk. So therefore, for women of child-bearing age who are on contraceptive pills, it is also important to supplement of folic acid.

BIRTH CONTROL AND VITAMIN B12 DEFICIENCY

Vitamin B12 plays an important role in assuring healthy body cells and nerves. It also aids in the process of gene formation.

Studies have found, compared those that are not on contraceptives, women who take contraceptives are low on B12 and this might also lead to pernicious anemia. It is very important to also supplement on B12 if you are currently on contraceptives as this might be beneficial to your health.

BIRTH CONTROL AND IRON DEFICIENCY

Iron Is an essential nutrient because it helps red blood cells to carry oxygen from the air you breathe to the body cells.

Iron deficiency anemia is almost seen in 20% of the women. Surprisingly, according to research, women on birth control pills has improved iron-binding capacity thereby managing iron deficiency.

Women with heavy periods are at an increased risk of iron deficiency. Birth pills help improve hormonal levels and manage menstrual blood flow.

This doesn’t mean you should be dependent on birth control pills for adequate iron intake. Foods that can combat iron deficiency include pork, beef, raisins, apricots etc

BIRTH CONTROL AND ZINC DEFICIENCY

Zinc is present in many body cells and is important for supporting the body’s immunity.

While all studies do not report zinc deficiency in women on pills, most studies have shown that even a small dose of these pills negatively alters zinc levels.

In pregnancy, zinc deficiency may result in growth retardation, stillbirth, and preterm delivery. Zinc supplements should be recommended to support women on birth pills.

BIRTH CONTROL AND MAGNESIUM DEFICIENCY

Magnesium supports the health of the immune system, heart, nerves and muscles functions. Surprisingly, magnesium supports about 300 chemical reactions in the body.

For women on the pills, it is important to note that that magnesium levels are depleted with these pills. Also, other factors like high-intensity exercise, high caffeine intake, poor sleep, and chronic stress can drain the body’s magnesium store.

Based on these findings, it is recommended that women on birth pills should take magnesium supplements along with magnesium-rich foods, such as pumpkin, cashews, and spinach

CONCLUSION

Micronutrients (needed in small amounts) are also very essential in our daily activities and can lead to severe deficiency symptoms if not easily gotten from our diet or supplements.

These nutrients are easily depleted with contraceptives, so it is important to note the nutrients listed and supplement on them while on those pills

Consider speaking with a dietitian once you want to go on birth control pills so as to help prevent depletion of these mentioned nutrients

SOURCES

– https://www.pocketpills.com/blog/birth-control/birth-control-and-vitamin-deficiency#:~:text=Birth%20control%20pills%20include%20progestin,%2C%20cognition%2C%20and%20cardiovascular%20health.

– https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/08/160804135421.htm

– https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9883381/

– https://www.researchgate.net/publication/249321690_Oral_contraceptives_and_changes_in_nutritional_requirements

– Folic acid and the prevention of neural-tube defects.

Wald NJ

N Engl J Med. 2004 Jan 8; 350(2):101-3.

[PubMed] [Ref list]

– Serum folate and Vitamin B12 levels in women using modern oral contraceptives (OC) containing 20 microg ethinyl estradiol.

Sütterlin MW, Bussen SS, Rieger L, Dietl J, Steck T

Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 2003 Mar 26; 107(1):57-61.

[PubMed] [Ref list]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s really very worrisome when baby stops or has trouble pooping. You get all worked especially when you’ve been expecting for some days and still ”No show”.
It’s important to note that bowel habits are unique from person to person and there is a wide range of “normal”. Also, there is always a change in bowel habits during the period of transition from only liquids to solid diet.
There are signs to watch out for before finalizing that your baby is constipated and they include:
– Pooping reduces to less than 3 times weekly
– Large poops difficult to pass (usually comes with discomfort and pain)
– Small dry and pellet like stools
– Baby releases gas more often than normal
– A poor appetite that reduces after the pooping

WHY DO BABIES GET CONSTIPATED?
Constipation in infants could be caused by different factors; either the type of food or because of a particular illness.
Factors like diet, certain medications, prematurity and illnesses leads to constipation in Infants.
Exclusively formula-fed babies are much more likely to have trouble from constipation. Formula can firm up poop much more than breast milk can.

– DIET: The introduction of cow’s milk protein—and an allergy or intolerance to it—is probably the largest contributor to baby constipation. Almost always, a shift or change from liquid to solid foods, from breast milk to formula, or from transitioning to cows milk is the major cause of constipation in babies. When a child’s body sees milk protein as an enemy to fight against due to allergy, this also leads to constipation.

– CERTAIN MEDICATIONS: High dose of iron supplements could lead to constipation. Make sure you are following your doctors prescription strictly.

– ILLNESS: When the baby is down with illness, it affects the way they eat and drink. This could throw things out of proportion and cause constipation.

– PREMATURITY: Premature babies tend to have more trouble with infant constipation than full-term babies. Since their digestive systems aren’t fully developed yet, food moves slower through the GI track and isn’t properly processed, which leads to dry, hard stools.

– FAMILY HISTORY : Certain issues like Hirschsprung’s disease, cystic fibrosis, chronic constipation and celiac disease (which often can’t be diagnosed in children until they’re closer to age 3) can all also increase the likelihood of baby constipation.

HOW OFTEN SHOULD MY BABY POOP?
To figure out if your child has a bout of baby constipation, it’s helpful to know how often babies tend to produce stool. From newborn to 3 months, a breastfed baby might have anywhere from 5 to 40 bowel movements a week (3-4 daily). At 6 to 12 months, both formula-fed and breastfed babies will go down to 5 to 28 bowel movements a week
Frequency sometimes might not be the right clue for suspecting constipation but if it is hard to pass.

HOW DO I COMBAT CONSTIPATION?
No parent likes to see their child in discomfort, especially the one that comes with constipation. So here are some remedies to handle constipation:
– To arrest/prevent constipation, for babies from 6-12 months who are constipated, you can give apple or prune juice (2-4 ounces), sometimes, you might have to eliminate cows milk.
– Also, a change in diet for the mom or change in formula could help improve on constipation and increase water intake.
For babies eating solids, you can also offer certain foods to combat baby constipation. Try feeding:
– barley or oatmeal cereals,
– prunes,
– peaches,
– plums,
– apricots,
– chia seeds,
– pears
– yoghurt, and
– most vegetables.

If you’re worried about constipation, you should eliminate banana and rice as both are binding agents.
As for preventing constipation, there is really little/ or nothing you can do. Make sure you consult with a pediatrician and dietitian before trying a baby constipation remedy.
SOURCE: https://www.thebump.com/a/baby-constipation-signs-causes-remedies
https://www.parents.com/baby/health/constipation/constipation-in-babies-signs-causes-and-cures/