Vitamins? Flinstones vs Prenatals

Go ahead with the Flinstones. My doc told me in my first pregnancy to take them because the prenatal were making me sick.

I was able to take my prenatal vitamins for the first nine weeks. Then the morning sickness kicked in & I couldn't tolerate them anymore. My OB told me to take Flintstones. I was able to take them the rest of my pregnancy. It was my first pregnancy, too.

S.,

I took flinstones through my entire pregnancy with my daughter because prenatals made me feel sicker than i already did! Ha ha. Anyhow they worked great for me and my doc didn't even have me take anything else but two flinstones a day. one in the morning and one at night. Good luck to you! And Congratulations!

I would never give Flintstone vitamins to my children, let alone use them as a prenatal. They are basically nothing but sugar, and definitely don't provide enough nutrition for a child, let alone a developing baby. You can buy a good over the counter prenatal at your drugstore that would be fine. My midwife would flip if she knew I'd ever even considered taking a Flintstone vitamin in place of a prenatal, and I can pretty much guarantee that your dr/midwife will agree!!

Good morning, S.! Congrats on being a mommy to be; it's the best!!

I had difficulty with constipation with my second pregnancy and ended up taking colace just about the whole time. After the initial difficulty, once I got started on the colace regularly, things seem to work themselves out!!

I have heard of others taking Flintstones during pregnancy, but not sure what anyone had to say about it. I have a friend that wasn't able to take vitamins of any kind during either of her pregnancies, b/c they just made her sick.

Baby is going to get what he/she needs, problem is mom will be the one to suffer if your diet is lacking. But, talk with your OBGYN, they probably have some reccommendations on what you can do.

Best wishes to you and your little one!!

My doctor told me to chew 2 flintstones a day when I wasnt able to keep anything else down. I had to experiement with a couple different types of prenatals before I found one that didnt make me sick. With my second baby I bought the Target brand prenatals and it never made me sick. I am still taking them, sometimes even before breakfast and I dont feel sick at all. Congrats on Baby!!

The prenatal vitamins give me a stomach ache...always have (I'm on baby #4) I tried the Flintstones and they were better but still a little bit of stomach upset. Went to the health food store and bought some prenatals there....AWESOME! They are pro-biotic and do not hurt my stomach at all. You need to take them 3x a day...usually I do 2 in the morning and then 1 at night with a DHA prenatal supplement that I bought there as well. A little pricey but well worth it! Good luck!

I took flinstone vitamins all 3 of my pregnancies cause prenatals made me sick.

Just read your "what happened response" if you don't like the prescription you were given after trying it there is a great Prenatal vitamin in Isotonix form (powder, mix with water and drink) for better absorption. The One A day also hurt your stomach because it had to "break down" the pill before you received any benefit from it...that's the problem with pills!
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Take care and Congratulations!

I don't know if Miralax is safe to take, did you check on that? Not sure about the Flinstones. I would think if you'er also taking folic acid and it has enough iron per recommendations, you should be okay. Although, I'm not sure what other minerals and vitamins the prenatal offers. Definiately check with your OB

Congratulations! A number of women have issues with the iron, I too had tummy aches. I would talk with you OB to make sure.
Good Luck!

S....my sister is very petite like 101 lbs on a heavy day and the reg pre natals made her constipated and so nautious. She took the flinstones chewables ( yes I teased her/what are sisters for? ) but it was better than the alternative of her skipping the vitamins all together. I think you will be ok = ) Remember to eat a balanced meal and it is ok to eat several small meals as you get bigger, the baby takes up more room. Congratulations in advance of your joyous arrival! Enjoy every second!
B.

Hi S.. I took Flintstones vitamins and extra folic acid while I was pregnant with our son. I was so sick from any other vitamin I tried that this was my last resort before taking nothing. They worked great for me and we have a VERY healthy baby boy. Just make sure you're eating right too. Good luck!

I was just at my midwife last month to get ready for my next pregnancy. I had tried going back on the One a Day and couldn't stomach it & could not do the prenatals becuase of constiaption. She told me to take 2 Flinstones a day. She recommended right before bed - which it sounds like you're doing - and I haven't had any problems. Her advice to me both times was it doesn't matter what vitamin you take - just take one. :) Best of luck to you!!

I took Flinstones with BOTH my pregnancies and had perfectly healthy children. I too couldn't take the prenatals as they made me sick (even if I halved them). Sam's had the best pricing for them, in case you were interested. Congratulations!

I think there's a reason there are prenatal vitamins. Flinstone vitamins are for small children who have different supplemental needs.

You may want to ask your obgyn to try a different prenatal, there are many on the market that could have a different effect on your belly. Also, make sure you are taking them as directed, according to take with food or without, etc.

I would check with your OB to see what vitamins they have in stock that you can try. I would let them know the trouble you have had and see what they suggest. My OB has a ton of samples, so check with your OB. Good luck!

Hi S.!
Congrats on your pregnancy! Flintstones should be fine!
On my first visit to my new OB, he took me off my prenatals and told me to just take 2 Flintstones without Iron daily for the first trimester...he said he rarely recommends the prenatals to women until the second tri, because that is when your blood volume will start to expand and you'll need extra iron...until then, a lot of women torture themselves taking the prenatals with all that iron and end up with worse nausea and constipation. He said that the Flintstones were perfectly fine...and had enough folic acid too! I am 11 weeks now, and running out of my Flintstones, so starting the switch back over to prenatals if I can tolerate them...I also take a B6 supplement daily of about 50mg to help with nausea.
With my last pregnancy, I started out with Preemesis (a vitamin for morning sickness)...which basically just has Folic Acid and B6 in it if I remember right...for the whole first trimester. Then I switched to Primacare Premier that has the colace built into the vitamin...it was pretty good! I can't seem to get it this time though...insurance issues.
Good luck to you and PM me if you want to!
This pregnancy gig does get a lot more fun in the second tri for most!!!

I was always told to take two flinstone vitamins by my ob/gyn, because I couldn't handle the prenatal vitamins. So I always took two flinstone vitamins and a folic acid vitamin. It worked well for me through three pregnancies. Good luck on your first!

I honestly took the Walmart generic prenatal vitamins which did not hurt my stomach but the ones from the doctor did (espeicailly the mineral pill- I threw up everytime from those). All prenatals have the chance of making you constipated b.c of the iron needed for the baby- taking colace (generic as well) and miralax helped me, although I found fiber one plus antioxidant granola bars to help the best. The difference between flinstones and prenatal vitamins is that regular vitamins may not have the proper amounts of things needed for your body and baby's development like folic acid. I am expecting my first in July so I know what you are going through Good luck!

A friend of mine recommended Natachew prenatals so I tried them with my 2 youngest. They are chewable and taste like Flinstones but they are better for you with less sugar. You might ask your doc about them. I haven't heard of anybody that had problems with nausea or constipation with them and they taste yummy! I couldn't swallow the large prenatals and I would always forget to take them so when I switched to Natachew it was easy to remember to take one since I could chew it up and it didn't taste chalky or leave my mouth dry.

S.,

I had the very same problems with prenatal vitamins. My OBGYN is the one who TOLD me to switch to Flintstone's Complete vitamins. They are just fine...feel free to continue. If your physician finds anything low in your bloodwork, they will let you know and you can make adjustments by supplementing accordingly...but I never had a problem.

Good luck!

C.

One of my best friends was told by her ob/gyn to take Flinstones because she couldn't take the other ones. You should be just fine. Congrats on the baby, and best of luck!

Prenates made me SICK!!! My doctor told me to use Flintstones, and that is what I took with all four pregnancies (two different doctors and both agreed that was okay). No problems. Been a while, but it seems like I was told to take two a day and eat lots of veggies, fruits and lean proteins.

I would recommend the coreplex vitamins withOUT the iron made from Advocare. I had the same issue and was not about to take anything with extra iron. These are great vitamins and they have chewables if you do not like pills. Just go to www.advocare.com and put an order in. They are not that expensive and they have never made me constipated.

My Ob had me take 2 flinstones while I was pregnant (with both my kids). I could not keep other vitamins down.

I suggest you go to GNC or any health food store, they sell all sorts of vitamins including organic vitamin supplements for women who are pregnant or nursing. I think if you go there you will get the right balance you need that wont make you sick and will give you the extra vitamins and iron you need for the baby and I also suggest you do this very soon, if you are at the end of your first trimester, the embryo/fetus is growing at a rapid rate, if it does not get what it needs it will take it from you. The fetus needs vitamins, calcium, etc. I have seen women who did not take their prenatal vitamins correctly lost their teeth because the baby took the calcium it needed from the mother. So it is very important to get those vitamins and iron in there in as large aqn quantity as you can stand it.

I had the same problem when I was pregant with my first child and my mom(she's an OB nurse) suggested that I stopped taking them altogether. She said that I need to maintain a balance diet and my baby would be fine and she was right. I have four health kids with no problems and I didn't take the vitamins.

Hi S.!! I had the same problem as you, the iron caused me lots of troubles. I took two of the Flintstones Complete vitamins all throughout my first pregnancy. I also took the Expecta DHA supplement. I am now starting my 9th month in my second pregnancy and have been doing the same thing. My daughter was born healthy and I have had her on the gummy Flintstones since she turned one. My doctor was the one that recommened the Flintstones and told me to compare the Flintstones to the adult multi-vitamin and I would see that they were comparable just the dosage would be different so by taking two Flintstones I was fully covered. Besides they taste much better than those coated multi-vitamins which also gave me a belly ache! Good luck to you with your pregnancy!!

Use should discuss it with your Dr. but my sister have a problem swallowing those horse pill size prenatal vitimin and her Dr. told her to take Flinstones.

During both of my pregnancies I have had "morning sickness" for about 20 weeks. The prenatal vitamins made my stomach upset and I would end up throwing them up. My doc advised me to take 2 Flintstones a day. One in the morning and one at night. They helped quite a bit and no constipation. I switched to the regular prenatals after I was through the sickness. Good luck!

I had a hard time swallowing my prenatals, so my OBGYN put me on 2 of the Flinstones Complete (they have more folic acid in them that the other Flinstones) and a folic acid each day. I did that through my last two pregnancies and each time after and currently for breastfeeding. It's great, however the vitamins clog you up, supposedly, so ask about Dulcolax, which is a stool softener, as well, so you don't deal with that dilemma. I still take that and that's a one a day thing.

hey there S.! This is Jill! Sounds like you have been getting TONS of responses! I was too sick in my pregnancy to take any prenatals... so I think anything is better than nothing! :) Good luck with the responses...

I had the same issues with One A Day and every other prenatal I tried until I found the One Source prenatals at Wal-Mart. The daily dosage on them is 2 pills, so I am able to take one in the morning and one before bed. This has made all the difference for me! Splitting the dosage up reduced the amount of vitamins and minerals that hit my system at once, so my body doesn't react so harshly. I take one vitamin in the morning and the other one + folic acid at bedtime.

I figured this out during the first trimester of my first pregnancy and have been on them since then. (Our daughter is 3 now and we're trying for a second.) I had trouble with other daily multivitamins, so I stayed on prenatals even after she was weaned.

Good luck!

I've had a few friends that were told to take Flinstones instead of their prenatals because the prenatals were making them sick. So, I think it's perfectly fine. Definitely make your doctor aware though. They might monitor your iron levels a little more, just to make sure everything is on track. Keep an eye out if you start to feel overly fatigued and out of it and other signs of anemia.

Also, it could just be the first trimester nausea. A few of my friends were able to stomach their prenatals after they got over the morning sickness.

Make sure you're eating plenty of fiber! Constipation is very common in pregnancy (even without the trouble of too much iron in vitamins). If you're already having trouble now, it will probably only get worse the farther along you get. Try not to rely on stool softeners, but instead add whole grains to your diet. Eat bran cereal or oatmeal, get those oatmeal/fiber snack bars, prunes, plum juice/prune juice, veggies, etc.

There are other prenatal vitamins you could try. GNC makes two varieties...one with iron and one without. Skip the iron if you are constipated. I don't know about taking Flintstones but they are intended for small children. A pregnant woman is a completely different animal.

And it DOES matter which vitamin you take. You need much more Folic Acid than non-pregnant people or children. And most regular multi-vitamins contain megadoses of other nutrients that could be BAD for you. Too much Vitamin A, for example is NOT GOOD for a developing fetus. Please don't just take any old vitamin. Ask your doctor!

If you need a prenatal vitamin they can prescribe a fish oil supplement has omega fatty acids and helps with constipation.

I found a brand at Target that I liked - I think it was Rainbow prenatal vitamins. It has something in it to so as not to upset the stomach. I didn't have any problems taking them.

I'm not sure Flinstons has all the things that the pregnant woman needs, but I haven't compared the labels either!
Good luck, hope you feel better soon.