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The #1 app for tracking pregnancy and baby growth.

BabyCenter is committed to providing the most helpful and trustworthy pregnancy and parenting information in the world. Our content is doctor approved and evidence based, and our community is moderated, lively, and welcoming. With thousands of award-winning articles and community groups , you can track your pregnancy and baby's growth, get answers to your toughest questions, and connect with moms, dads, and expectant parents just like you.

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The #1 app for tracking pregnancy and baby growth.

Vitamin C is important for a healthy immune system, and during pregnancy it helps you and your baby make collagen for your tendons, bones, and skin. To get enough vitamin C during pregnancy, eat citrus fruits and other fruits and vegetables that are rich in this important nutrient. Because it's fairly easy to get enough vitamin C from your diet and your prenatal vitamin, you probably don't need to take a vitamin C supplement.
Both you and your baby need vitamin C daily because your bodies use it to make collagen, a structural protein that's a component of cartilage, tendons, bones, and skin. Vitamin C is also important for a healthy immune system.
Also known as ascorbic acid, vitamin C is essential for tissue repair, wound healing, bone growth and repair, and healthy skin. Vitamin C helps your body fight infections and acts as an antioxidant, protecting cells from damage.
Vitamin C also helps your body absorb iron , especially from vegetarian sources.
Signs of a vitamin C deficiency include fatigue, gum inflammation, slow-healing cuts, bruises, and dry skin.
Pregnant women need more vitamin C than women who aren't pregnant – and breastfeeding women need even more.
Pregnant women ages 18 and younger: 80 milligrams (mg) per day
Pregnant women ages 19 and older: 85 mg per day
Breastfeeding women ages 18 and younger: 115 mg per day
Breastfeeding women ages 19 and older: 120 mg per day
Nonpregnant women ages 18 and younger: 65 mg per day
Nonpregnant women ages 19 and older: 75 mg per day
Citrus fruits probably jump to mind – they're especially high in vitamin C – but leafy greens and many other fruits and vegetables are also excellent sources. Choose fresh foods as your source of vitamin C because heat can destroy this vitamin. Also, keep in mind that some cereals and juices are fortified with vitamin C.
Vitamin C also helps maximize the amount of iron you get from the other foods you eat. (You need a lot more iron during pregnancy , and it can be hard to get enough.) That's why it's a good idea to try to include a vitamin C-rich food with every meal. This is especially true when eating vegetarian sources of iron, like beans – the vitamin C can help you absorb up to six times more iron.
Foods that provide vitamin C include:
There's usually no need to take a separate supplement. You can easily get the vitamin C you need from fruits and vegetables, and your prenatal vitamins also contain vitamin C.
It's not a good idea to take large doses of vitamin C when you're pregnant. The maximum daily amount that's considered safe is 1800 mg for women 18 and younger and 2000 mg for women 19 and over. Excessive vitamin C can upset your stomach, and more studies are needed to understand how these supplements could affect pregnancy outcomes.

BabyCenter's editorial team is committed to providing the most helpful and trustworthy pregnancy and parenting information in the world. When creating and updating content, we rely on credible sources: respected health organizations, professional groups of doctors and other experts, and published studies in peer-reviewed journals. We believe you should always know the source of the information you're seeing. Learn more about our editorial and medical review policies .

ACOG. 2021. Nutrition during pregnancy. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. https://www.acog.org/womens-health/faqs/nutrition-during-pregnancy [Accessed May 2021]
IOM. 2000. Dietary Reference Intakes for vitamin C, vitamin E, selenium, and carotenoids. Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine, National Academies. https://www.nap.edu/read/9810/chapter/7 [Accessed May 2021]
LPI. 2018. Vitamin C. Linus Pauling Institute, Oregon State University. https://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/vitamins/vitamin-C [Accessed May 2021]
ODS. 2021. Vitamin C. Office of Dietary Supplements, National Institutes of Health. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminC-HealthProfessional/ [Accessed May 2021]
WHO. 2015. Vitamin C supplementation in pregnancy. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/elena/titles/review_summaries/vitaminC-pregnancy/en/ [Accessed May 2021]

The Pregnancy Calculator can estimate a pregnancy schedule based on the provided due date, last period date, ultrasound date, conception date, or IVF transfer date.
Pregnancy is a term used to describe a woman's state over a time period (~9 months) during which one or more offspring develops inside of a woman. Childbirth usually occurs approximately 38 weeks after conception, or about 40 weeks after the last menstrual period. The World Health Organization defines a normal pregnancy term to last between 37 and 42 weeks. During a person's first OB-GYN visit, the doctor will usually provide an estimated date (based on a sonogram) at which the child will be born, or due date. Alternatively, the due date can also be estimated based on a person's last menstrual period.
While the due date can be estimated, the actual length of pregnancy depends on various factors, including age, length of previous pregnancies, and weight of the mother at birth. 1 However, there are still more factors affecting natural variation in pregnancy terms that are not well understood. Studies have shown that fewer than 4% of births occur on the exact due date, 60% occur within a week of the due date, and almost 90% occur within two weeks of the due date. 2 As such, while it is possible to be fairly confident that a person's child will be born within about two weeks of the due date, it is currently not possible to predict the exact day of birth with certainty.
Pregnancy can be detected either by using pregnancy tests or by the woman herself noticing a number of symptoms, including a missed menstrual period, increased basal body temperature, fatigue, nausea, and increased frequency of urination.
Pregnancy tests involve the detection of hormones that serve as biomarkers for pregnancy and include clinical blood or urine tests that can detect pregnancy from six to eight days after fertilization. While clinical blood tests are more accurate, and can detect exact amounts of the hormone hCG (which is only present during pregnancy) earlier and in smaller quantities, they take more time to evaluate and are more expensive than home pregnancy urine tests. It is also possible to get a clinical urine test, but these are not necessarily more accurate than a home pregnancy test, and can potentially be more costly.
There are a number of factors that need to be considered during pregnancy, many of which are highly dependent on the individual's situation, such as medication, weight gain, exercise, and nutrition.
Taking certain medications during pregnancy can have lasting effects on the fetus. In the U.S., drugs are classified into categories A, B, C, D, and X by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) based on potential benefits vs. fetal risks. Drugs that have positive benefits for the mother with low risk to the fetus are classified as category A, while drugs with proven, significant fetal risks that outweigh potential benefits to the mother are classified a category X. A person that is pregnant should consult their doctor regarding any medications they plan to use during their pregnancy.
Weight gain is a largely inevitable and necessary aspect of pregnancy that varies between people. It affects many aspects of fetal development, such as the weight of the baby, the placenta, extra circulatory fluid, and its fat and protein stores. Weight management merits consideration because insufficient or excessive weight gain can have negative effects for both mother and fetus, including the need for cesarean section (C-section) and gestational hypertension. While the values vary between women, the Institute of Medicine recommends an overall pregnancy weight gain of 25-35 pounds for women who are considered "normal" weight (BMI 18.5-24.9), 28-40 pounds for those considered underweight (BMI < 18.5), 15-25 pounds for those considered overweight (BMI 25-29.9), and 11-20 pounds for those considered obese (BMI > 30). 3 Our Pregnancy Weight Gain Calculator is based on the Institute of Medicine recommendations.
Studies indicate that aerobic exercise during pregnancy helps to improve or maintain physical fitness as well as possibly decreasing the risk of C-sections. Although it varies between women, regular aerobic and strength-conditioning exercise are often recommended for pregnant women, and women who exercised regularly before pregnancy, who have uncomplicated pregnancies, should be able to continue high-intensity exercise programs. 4 The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists suggests that given an uncomplicated pregnancy, fetal injuries are unlikely to occur as a result of exercise. Nevertheless, caution is advised, and a pregnant woman should consult their doctor if any of the following symptoms present: vaginal bleeding, shortness of breath, dizziness, headache, calf pain or swelling, amniotic fluid leakage, decreased fetal movement, preterm labor, muscle weakness, or chest pain. 5
Nutrition during pregnancy is particularly important for the health of the mother and baby. Pregnancy requires different nutritional considerations than a person would have in a non-pregnant state due to increased energy and specific micronutrient requirements. 6
Certain vitamins such as Vitamin B9, also known as folic acid, can help decrease the risk of certain defects, while other nutrients such as DHA omega-3 that is necessary for proper brain and retinal development cannot be produced efficiently by infants, and can only be obtained through the placenta during pregnancy, or in breast milk after birth. There are many other micronutrients that aid proper fetal development, and there exist myriad sources of information on what pregnant women should or shouldn't eat or do. All of the information can be different to sift through and can vary from person to person. Pregnant women should consult their doctors and/or dietitian to help determine the best course of action for their own specific needs.
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