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You may have heard that prenatal vitamins are key when it comes to pregnancy.
What’s So Special About Them?
The most important thing about prenatal vitamins is that they contain folic acid. Folic acid helps prevent neural tube defects in babies (reducing them by about 70%).
What are Neural Tube Defects?
They’re defects of the brain, spine, and/or spinal cord.
Examples of Neural Tube Defects Include:
- Spina bifida (in which the spinal column doesn’t close all the way).
- Anencephaly (in which the brain and skull don’t fully form). Reality Check: This is super rare.
When Should I Start Taking Prenatal Vitamins?
- Ideally, one month prior to conception. Roughly 50% of pregnancies are unplanned, though, so this can be hard to pull off.
- If your pregnancy is a surprise, start a prenatal vitamin as soon as you find out that you’re preggers.
How Do I Pick a Prenatal Vitamin When There are So Many to Choose From?
Below are 5 Tips to Help You Find the Right Prenatal Vitamin for You.
Reality Check: Most prenatal vitamins contain the basic requirements, so you really can’t go wrong.
Tip #1: Pick a Prenatal Vitamin That Contains at Least 400 Micrograms (mcg) of Folic Acid.
ACOG (the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists) says the average pregnant woman should take a prenatal vitamin that contains 400 micrograms (mcg) of folic acid per dose.1 Some doctors and organizations (like the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force) recommend higher daily doses of folic acid for the average pregnant woman. Ask your doctor what they think.
Exceptions:
- Women carrying twins (or higher order multiples) are typically told to take 1,000 micrograms (or more) of folic acid per day.
- Women at a higher risk of having a child with a neural tube defect (for example, women who have given birth to a child with a neural tube defect in the past and those taking anti-seizure medications) often need mega doses of folic acid (think: 4,000 micrograms per day).
Note: Most over-the-counter prenatal vitamins contain 400-800 micrograms of folic acid per dose. Because of this, prenatal vitamins with super high doses of folic acid require a prescription.
Insider Info: Even if your diet is rich in folic acid (i.e. you eat a bunch of citrus fruits, cereal, leafy greens, and beans), experts still recommend that you take a prenatal vitamin with at least 400 micrograms of folic acid in it. The additional folic acid obtained through the diet is a bonus.
Tip #2: Make Sure the Prenatal Vitamin DOESN’T Have More Than 5,000 International Units of Vitamin A Per Serving.
Why? Because too much vitamin A can cause birth defects.
Tip #3: If You Have Bad Morning Sickness, Consider Taking a Gummy Vitamin.
PediaWise Pick: Vitafusion Prenatal Vitamin.
Tip #4: If You Want to Avoid Gelatin, Look for a Vegan Prenatal Vitamin.
PediaWise Pick: Garden of Life Organic Prenatal Vitamin.
Tip #5: In Addition, Look for the Following Bonus Items in Your Prenatal Vitamin:
- Iron: Women are at risk of becoming anemic (low on healthy red blood cells) during pregnancy. Why? One reason is their iron needs double when they have a bun in the oven (and iron is a key component of red blood cells).
Some prenatal vitamins include iron, while others don’t. If yours doesn’t, that’s okay. You can take a separate iron supplement (if your doctor recommends it) and increase the iron in your diet by eating more poultry, beans, iron-fortified cereal, nuts, beef, and spinach (think: Popeye).
Insider Info: Iron can be constipating. Therefore, look for a prenatal vitamin that contains a stool softener as well as iron. If you take a stand-alone iron supplement (that’s separate from your prenatal vitamin), try one that releases the iron slowly (like Slow Fe).
- Calcium: Doctors recommend that pregnant women (ages 19-50 years) take 1,000 milligrams (mg) of calcium per day.
- Vitamin D: The jury is still out on what the optimal daily dose of vitamin D should be for pregnant women. The American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends that pregnant women take at least 600 international units (IU) of supplemental vitamin D per day.2 However, some experts recommend taking higher daily doses of vitamin D (up to 4,000 IU) during pregnancy. Ask your doctor how much vitamin D they think you should take.
Insider Info: Most prenatal vitamins don’t contain adequate amounts of calcium or vitamin D for pregnant women and women trying to conceive. To cover your calcium and vitamin D needs, you can take a separate calcium and vitamin D tablet or chew (like Viactiv) in addition to your prenatal vitamin. Run this by your doc, though, first.
Get Wise(r) about the Importance of Calcium & Vitamin D During Pregnancy.
- Vitamin B12: If you’re a vegetarian or a vegan make sure that your prenatal vitamin contains vitamin B12.
Why? Because vegetarian and vegan diets tend to be low in vitamin B12 (as well as in calcium and iron). Luckily, these deficiencies can be taken care of by taking supplements and eating foods rich in these nutrients.
- DHA and EPA (Docosahexaenoic Acid and Eicosapentaenoic Acid): DHA and EPA are omega-3 fatty acids that have been shown to boost brain and eye development in babies. Get Wise(r) about them here.
The Bottom Line
Most prenatal vitamins make the cut when it comes to pregnancy. The primary goal is to choose a prenatal vitamin that contains enough folic acid to guard against neural tube defects. This means the prenatal vitamin should contain at least 400 mcg for the average pregnant person and higher doses of folic acid for women carrying twins (or higher order multiples) and those with a higher risk of having a child with a neural tube defect.
