Even the strictest of diets cannot match the required nutrient proportions that are needed for optimum health for the mother and baby to achieve. This is why prenatal vitamins come in to balance the equation by adding important nutrients not available in sufficient quantities in food like iron and folates or folic acid.
Folic acid, also known as vitamin B, is a very important nutrient because it helps in reducing by up to 50 to 70 percent the chance of the baby suffering from defects such as anencephaly, cleft lip, heart defects, cleft palate and spina bifida. The synthetic version of the folic acid is absorbed by the body faster than the natural one found in foods which is why eating a natural diet is not enough and the prenatal vitamins arrive. Lack of adequate iron during pregnancy can cause iron-deficient anemia. Enough iron also discourages low birth rate, infant mortality or preterm delivery.