A New Way to Boost Prenatal Nutrition

Bundle Organics, a new line of organic prenatal juices, are designed to address the unique nutritional needs of expecting and new moms. Co-founder Kwany Lui explains the essential vitamins that support baby’s healthy development.

People always ask me how I got into the prenatal juice space. It actually makes perfect sense if you know my background. I spent many years working for a large consumer packaged goods company and in particular, an organic brand of cereals, granola bars, and frozen fruit and veggies. Working on that brand completely changed my grocery and eating habits. I started purchasing organic food, joined a CSA (community supported agriculture group), drank raw, fresh-pressed juices and eventually started doing my own juicing.

Soon enough, I met my co-founder, John Mascari, who was a classmate of mine from Harvard Business School. We had a lot of friends and family members who struggled to get the right balance of nutrients in their diet during their pregnancy. Even though most women take prenatal vitamins, everyone still worries about their nutrition and whether they are getting the minerals and vitamins they need from their diet. We decided to dig a bit deeper and partnered with Dr. Errol Norwitz, Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Tufts Medical Center in Boston. He became an advisor for Bundle Organics and informed us that for expecting moms, prenatal vitamins won’t necessarily meet 100% of your daily vitamin and mineral needs. In addition to providing for your own health during pregnancy, you also need to take in large amounts of extra minerals and vitamins that are required to grow a healthy baby.

And so, Bundle Organics was born! We knew there had to be a better way for soon-to-be moms to get the prenatal nutrition they needed without the worry. So, why not through a tasty juice designed specifically for expecting moms to take in addition to their prenatal vitamins, to get the extra ‘bump’ of nutrients they need? As a supplement, our juices were made to include just the right amount of nutrients to complement those that pregnant women are already getting from a prenatal vitamin, like folic acid, while also providing those that might be more difficult to obtain, even in a well-balanced diet, such as calcium, iron, and vitamin D.

Here’s why these are so important:

Folic Acid: Folic acid is a vitamin B-complex group and is important for baby’s cell division and blood formation. It has been shown to prevent spina bifida (also known as neural tube defects) and related birth defects that occur during early pregnancy. It is often recommended that women start taking folic acid at least two to three months before conception and throughout their pregnancy. There can be a considerable loss of vitamins due to oxidation when food has been stored for more than a few days, making it difficult to obtain a large amount of folic acid through food sources alone.

Calcium: Calcium is necessary for the developing baby’s bones and teeth, and is most needed in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy when bone formation occurs. A daily total of 1,200 mg of elemental calcium is recommended during pregnancy. If you’re taking a prenatal vitamin, you’re probably getting at least 150 to 200 mg of calcium, whereas, 8 oz. of skim milk provides about 300 mg of calcium. Therefore, many women end up having to take a separate calcium supplement.

Vitamin D: Vitamin D is essential for calcium to be absorbed into the body. It also plays a role in mineralizing the baby’s skeletal system. Exposure to sunlight activates vitamin D, but if you are pregnant during the winter months, this exposure is often limited and you may be advised to take a vitamin supplement or to increase your dietary intake.

Iron: Iron is necessary for making hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen to the other cells. Many women are iron deficient, before, during and after they have children. Since blood is lost during childbirth and every month during menstruation, many women have reduced iron stores throughout their childbearing years. Just another reason Bundle Organics is great post-pregnancy too.

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle and well-balanced diet is so important for expecting moms and their growing babies. For moms who are looking for ways to supplement their nutritional intake during pregnancy, we hope you’ll give Bundle Organics a try. Folic acid, calcium, iron, and all the nutrients we have in our juices are good for pre-conception and breastfeeding too!

Kwany Lui is the co-founder of Bundle Organics, a new line of organic prenatal juices that are pasteurized and specially designed to address the unique nutritional needs of expecting and new moms.  The juices are packed with organic fruits and veggies, plus an extra bump of essential vitamins like iron, calcium, vitamin D, omega 3, and folic acid to support a baby’s healthy development.