Suggestions on Prenatal Vitamins

When I was pregnant my prenatal upset my stomach, so my doc said I could take Flintstone's vitamins, and just take an extra folic acid pill, so that's what I did for the majority of my pregnancy. I was anemic so I had to take iron pills too, which was a lot of pills to take in one day but I really liked the flintstones vitamins. They taste pretty good! =)

Although I am not preganat yet I hope to start trying in July. My sister n law is a rn and she said I should start taking a prenatal before I get pregnant. I bought some from walmart and have been taking them since December. They have 800mg of folic acid so I think I'm good!

I did a lot of research on different natural parenting type sites. The Rainbow Lite brand kept coming up so I tried them. I have been taking them for 3 years now, and love them. You can find them online or at the healthfood store and they have a one-a-day.

I took PreCare Prenatal you can get a prescription for it from your dr. I took one everynight when i went to bed. no side effects no nasty taste ..I took this one with all four of my pregnancys.

HTH
G.

Prenatal vitamins made me so sick - my doc just recommended that I eat regular old flintstones chewables. If you look at the label, there really isn't that much of a difference, and if you're eating a healthy, well balanced diet, regular ole vitamins might be all you need.

Good luck!

I took regular Centrum A-Z. I also added in Fish Oil supplement.l Doc said it was great and good idea. Cheaper than paying for overpriced prenatals! Oh and taking them at night usually after dinner or nighttime snack
allows for better absorption and you feel better int he morning to take on the day than wasting it on morning or midday.

i was so sick with my first and was recommended flinstones complete. they are cheap and good stuff - easy on the belly and okay taste.

In addition to the below, ask your doctor also about Omega 3 (Fish oil) tablets for pregnant women.

i take natural vitamins, although i cant take them 3 times a day either. that gives me TOO much energy and i cant sleep. So i take them twice a day. i keep them in my kitchen and take one with breakfast and the other with dinner. have you tried that at all? what vitamin were you trying?

I use Prenexa! It has been the best in my eyes. It goes down smooth, has a light chocolate flavor and has yet to make me constipated.

I used whatever the store brand at CVS was...my OB said as long as you were taking the dose for pregnant women (it was 2 pills no bigger than a tylenol) they are pretty much all ok. I liked it being broken into two doses because it didn't make me as nauseous.

Laura,
Shaklee doesn't market their vitamins as prenatal, but they are what I would have used if I had known about them. Shaklee is the number one seller of natural supplements. Let me know if you are interested.
Victoria

Few, if any PreNatal vitamins, are FDA approved. Most are registered with the FDA, but few have gone through the process of receiving FDA approval.

I, personally, am a big fan of Rx prenatal vitamins because of the FDA's oversight for clinical efficacy (effectiveness) and the ability to report safety concerns such as adverse events.

MANY pharmacies have plans in place to offer free Rx prenatal vitamins to the public. Locally Marsh pharmacy offers then, and I know Stater Bros in CA introduced a program last week. I'd ask around and see which are covered by your insurance and what the cost is vs. OTC products.

Always get your OB/GYN's opinion - my thoughts are that prenatal vitamins are not something you want to cut corners with. With both kids, I was willing to spend $30/month for a good Rx prenatal vitamin per my OB's guidance.

I take Stuart Prenatal - available at Walgreens & CVS. It was what my OB recommended.

I used Wegmans (store brand, pretty generic) prenatal vitamins. They have enough folic acid and I only need one per day. For me, taking more than one pill per day was too much of a pain, and the first prenatal vitamin I was on was a 2-pill dose and I didn't realize it, but at the time I was also taking extra folic acid, so my doctor wasn't too worried. I hated the prescription ones I had--they were like horse pills and I had to take two. If you are nauseated, try taking them before bed if you do not already. I never tried liquid or gummies.

I take the Vitality Prenatal from Melaleuca. They are reinforced with the Oligo Compound, which helps you to absorb more than 10x the normal vitamins. I really like them - they've really helped with my energy level (my son is now 3 weeks, and I'm still taking them and still really like them). www.livetotalwellness.com/joycita I'd love to help you get those vitamins.

They made me sick if I took them in the morning or any time during the day. So I took them right before I went to bed. I would take the samples from the doc or the ones from Walmart. I would just take 1 a night. I do think they help while you are pregnant and breast feeding.
Good Luck!!

Hi Laura! Ask your doctor if you need prenatals at all! My doctor didn't recommend them because I was so sick and she said they were unnecessary anyway.

I took a liquid folic acid supplement and a fish oil and skipped the pre-natal after I was given the go ahead from my OB.

I personally don't care if a vitamin isn't FDA approved. There are so many medications with harmful side effects that are FDA approved that I don't even take it seriously anymore.

Yes, I love the prenatals that I'm currently on..I get them at a local herbal store and they are called Nature's Prenatal by Nature's Sunshine.

These are the ones I took: http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/store/en/browse/sku_detail.j...

They were the only ones that didn't make me sick. I took it at night and you only have to take 1. I had severe morning sickness.

It really doesn't matter. The folic acid is actually needed in about the first four weeks of pregnancy (before you even know you are pregnant!) and has less importance after that.

There is a lot of evidence to support Omega 3 supplements so consider a regular prenatal and an omega 3 or just an omega 3 and a healthy diet. Prenatal vitamins are largely unnecessary anyway, so don't stress.

I used one from Whole Foods that had probiotics and natural food sources for the vitamins and minerals, it was three pills a day that I just took all at the same time. Had a yucky taste but I was nervous about the chemicals and additives in the more mainstream vitamins. Also- supplements from natural sources are absorbed better than the typical vitamin formulas.