Your body needs a variety of nutrients for good health: vitamins, minerals, protein, carbohydrates, fats and fibre. Vitamins are organic compounds needed in small amounts that your body can't make for itself. Apart from vitamin D, which your skin makes from sunlight, most of the vitamins you need come from food. Dietary supplements are complementary medicines which contain nutrients that may fill a deficiency (a gap) in your diet. Examples include multivitamins, single minerals, fish oil capsules and herbal supplements. Essential vitamins and minerals in pregnancy Good nutrition in pregnancy is vital for the healthy growth and development of your baby. You need to consume enough nutrients to meet your baby's needs, as well as your own. When you're pregnant, you need more of some nutrients, including protein, folate, iodine, iron and some vitamins. folate (called 'folic acid' when in supplement form) helps prevent neural tube defects, such as spina bifida when taken at least 1 month before conception and throughout the first 3 months of pregnancy iodine is needed for brain and nervous system development iron helps prevent anaemia in the mother, as well as low birth weight in the baby Vitamin B12 and vitamin D are also particularly important since they support the development of the baby's nervous system (B12) and skeleton (D). Adequate vitamin C intake also helps improve the adsorption of iron from your diet.