Prenatal Vitamins Created Equal???
Not all prenatal vitamins are created equal, and since not every supplement has been tested for safety in pregnant women, stick with what meets your core needs. It is critical that you take a prenatal vitamin to ensure your baby gets all of the nutrients they need as they develop, but through my own experience, I have learned that not all prenatal vitamins are created equally. For pregnant women, having a good supply of vitamins is important to the development of their babies, but also for their own health. Prenatal vitamins are supplements containing vitamins and minerals to support pregnant individuals, preventing common nutrient deficiencies that may occur during pregnancy.
The difference between regular old multivitamins and a prenatal is that prenatal vitamins have high amounts of the specific nutrients needed during pregnancy. The major nutrients a prenatal contains larger amounts of are typically folate (the naturally occurring form of Vitamin B-9; a synthetic form is called folic acid) and iron. Prenatals that contain methylfolate and folinic acid, are particularly good for women who cannot process folate, or indeed any folate at all.
It is important to remember that prenatal vitamins -- as long as they have all the right ingredients -- can both improve your chances of getting pregnant faster, as well as providing essential building blocks for a healthy baby. Since you cannot always determine when you are going to get pregnant, experts suggests taking prenatal vitamins as a daily multivitamin during your reproductive years, if there is any possibility you might become pregnant. Along with eating well as possible to optimize fertility and health for pregnancy, it is the time that many women will be considering whether they should be taking prenatal vitamins, and which one of the many options to choose.
Talk to your health care provider about how taking a prescription, daily prenatal or postnatal vitamin may support healthy pregnancy and postpartum wellness. For instance, too much vitamin A may harm your baby, which is why the vitamin is typically reduced in prenatals, and that is part of the reason that regular multivitamins simply do not cut it during pregnancy and after.