What are prenatal vitamins?

Prenatal vitamins are vitamin supplements intended to be taken before and during pregnancy and also during breastfeeding in most cases. Prenatal vitamins are specially formulated multivitamins that address any nutritional deficiencies in the mother’s diet. Among the numerous vitamins and minerals that prenatal vitamins contain, their folic acid, iron, and calcium content are especially significant. The reasons being are:

Folic Acid: Folic acid reduces the risk of having a baby with a serious birth defect of the brain and spinal cord, called the ‘neural tube.’ A baby with the most common neural tube defect, called spina bifida,is born with a spine that open. The nerves in the spine, which are exposed, are damaged, leaving the child with varying degrees of incontinence and/or paralysis.

Calcium: The Calcium in the Prenatal vitamins can help a mother maintain her own bone density, as the foetus uses the calcium for bone growth.

Iron: Due to the increased needs during pregnancy, women don’t get enough of iron in their diet. The reason being the mother’s body makes a lot more blood to support the baby, and as a result, the iron stores in the blood can get spread pretty thin.

Which Prenatal vitamins do I take?

Every mother has different requirements when it comes to these vitamins. Many women have difficulty tolerating prenatal vitamins as a result of the high iron content. Due to different tolerance levels of mothers, companies develop a multitude of dosage forms to meet the needs and tolerances of expecting mothers. Many of the prenatal vitamins are available over the counter but it is recommended that the mother consult the doctor to find out which vitamins would be most suitable. It is possible to jeopardize the baby’s health by taking inappropriate amounts of these vitamins.

The Prenatal vitamins are making me ill or giving me nausea

If the prenatal vitamins are upsetting your stomach, it may be due to the fact that the vitamins have a particularly high level of iron. Taking a lot of iron can also lead to constipation, which is already a problem for many pregnant women. It can also cause nausea or, more rarely, diarrhea.  If you’re not anemic, speak to the physician as it may make sense for you to take to a prenatal vitamin with a lower dose of iron.

Other information

- If you take 2 prenatal vitamins in a day, do not worry as taking twice the recommended dose for just one day will not harm you or your baby.

- If you are not able to swallow the prenatal vitamins, ask your doctor for other options such as a liquid or chewable version of the vitamins or even just smaller pills.

photo credit: tommo4074