FAQ Prenatal Vitamin - Pros and Cons of Taking Prenatal Vitamins

ln this article, I will discuss about prenatal vitamins importance and their side-effects

·         Are prenatal vitamins helpful to conceive?
·         Daily recommended dose of prenatal vitamins nutrient?
·         Are prenatal vitamins necessary?
·         When should i start taking prenatal vitamins?
·         What prenatal vitamins are important for me?
·         How should i start taking prenatal vitamins?
·         What if i have trouble swallowing pills?
·         Side effects of prenatal vitamins?
·         Are there any kosher, halal or vegan prenatal vitamin available?

Are Prenatal Vitamins helpful to conceive?

Taking a prenatal vitamin is perfectly healthy for someone not looking to conceive. While it won't support fertility, it will replenish folic acid, iron, vitamin D, and calcium stores in the body. This can help keep you strong and prevent potential health complications in an unexpected pregnancy. Doctors used to tell women to take folic acid as soon as they got pregnant. Now, experts suggest starting a prenatal vitamin with 400 micro-grams of folic acid before you try to conceive. This important nutrient also prevents spinal defects in growing babies... Some prenatal vitamins have it, but not all of them, so check the label before you buy any brand prenatal vitamins. 

Daily recommendation of prenatal vitamin

Folic acid/ folate-at least 400mcg (some foods naturally contain folate; folic acid is synthetic version added to foods)
·         Iron- 27mg
·         Calcium- for 18 years and younger:1,300mg/dl:19 years &older:1,000mgl/dl
·         Vitamin d -600IU
·         Vitamin b6- 1.9mg          
·         Vitamin b12
·         Omega 3
·         Choline

Are prenatal vitamins necessary?

There has been always a debate if prenatal vitamins are important. The answer is yes! Prenatal vitamins are really important because it’s hard to get all the nutrients from the food alone. Which you & your baby need even if you eat a lot of vegetables, fruits & meat

Pregnant women body goes through a lot of changes during pregnancy folic acid and other vitamins decreases the risk of neural tube defect & other abnormalities

One must take prenatal vitamins, especially women with health issues & dietary restrictions. Prenatal vitamins are also very important for women with pregnancy complications.

The women, who are
·         vegan or vegetarian
·         have some gastric issues
·         Have nausea from certain kind of food
·         who smoke
·         have blood disorders
·         have twins or multiples

Folic Acid:
Folic acid & iron are almost included in all the vitamins because pregnant women body can’t get that from any food source alone. Folic acid deficiency can lead to neural tube defects cleft lip and palate and certain heart defects. Your body absorbs the synthetic version of folic acid better than the natural one found in food, so even if you eat a balanced diet a supplement is strongly recommended

Iron:
iron is really important a pregnant woman need more red blood cells which help shuttle oxygen throughout the body, if they tend to decrease it can cause pre-eclampsia (high blood pressure), iron deficiency anemia, pre-term delivery, low infant weight, infant mortality and other blood related problems

Calcium:
you need calcium to make your babies strong bones, teeth, nerves, muscles and heart.

Vitamin d:
vitamin d plays an important role in maintaining the level of calcium & phosphorus. if you lack vitamin d, your baby can tend to have rickets bone abnormality and delayed physical development.

Recommended dose of vitamin is described above.

Essential fatty acids:

Some prenatal vitamins do not include fatty acid omega 3, DHA and EPA which are important for the development of baby brain nerve & eye tissue. Omega3 you can get from fish, however be really careful to eat a lot of fish; It contains mercury. Excessive consumption of mercury is not good for the pregnant women

When should Prenatal Vitamins be taken?

You should start taking folic acid as early as you can. You can also take prenatal vitamins if you are trying to get pregnant

Prenatal vitamins are really important especially in the first few weeks. If you start taking it early, it can reduce the risk of child birth defects. Take prenatal vitamins everyday once you get pregnant. Continue to take prenatal vitamins when you are breastfeeding your baby to replenish your body.

Side effects of prenatal vitamins:

If you are taking a supplement with more than recommended 30mg of iron, it may upset your gastro intestinal track. Prenatal vitamins can cause constipation & nausea in some woman.

To reduce the risk of constipation,

·         Drink more prune juice
·         Eat more vegetables & fruits
·         Add more fiber in your diet 
·         Drink plenty of fluids
Ask your health care about any stool softener to ease in constipation.

To prevent Nausea 
·         Take prenatal vitamins at night.
·         Prenatal vitamins with ginger extract are also very helpful with nausea.
·         Try the BRAT diet, Banana, Rice, Apple sauce and Toast. Bananas are high in nausea fighting B6.

How should i take prenatal Vitamins?

If you have trouble swallowing prenatal vitamins in pills form.

·         You can take with bland food, ginger, and food with enzymes that aid in digestion
·         Gummies, chewable gummies like lemon and orange flavor are also helpful, but most of the gummies supplements lack calcium and iron, so you need to take them separately.
·         Liquid prenatal vitamins have HIGH ABSORPTION - easy-to-swallow liquid blend is a more effective way to take your prenatal vitamins. Liquid vitamins are 8 times more effective than pills or gummies, and boast an incredible 98% absorption rate! It's also a great alternative for morning sickness sufferers.
·         Prenatal vitamin supplemental, there are prenatal vitamins in powder form available in the pharmacies. You can mix these powder form supplements in the water to make a beverage. These drinks meet your nutritional needs and work towards hydration as well. These powder supplements are convenient because you can add them to your water bottle.

Are there any kosher, halal or vegan prenatal available in market?

Yes there are a lot of halal options available in market these days. You can get the once made with halal gelatin from Amazon,

At CVS, the blue cap bottles supplements are made of bovine gelatin. These supplements are made of beef gelatin unlike regular gelatin which is made of pork.

There are fish based gelatin supplements available at GNC and vitamin shop store. For my vegan friends there are a lot of plant based vitamins available at pharmacies

One thing to remember , gel form vitamins have gelatin & pills form are not made of gelatin.

I hope this article helps you decide if prenatal vitamins are good for you or not, please subscribe this blog for more helpful articles about pregnancy and baby care. 

Cheers