[IMAGE]
If you’re pregnant, you’re probably aware that taking a prenatal vitamin is a good idea. But do you know why? To oversimplify, prenatal vitamins offer you key dietary nutrients — like forms of folate and iron — to support your growing baby.
These nutrients are available in many whole foods and vegetables too, but unless you have a perfect diet, you likely aren’t consuming enough of them to ensure your baby thrives. Taking a prenatal vitamin will help boost your body’s bioavailability of those nutrients to help you carry a safe and healthy pregnancy. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that anyone trying to get pregnant should take a prenatal vitamin.
But why exactly are these nutrients so important? And what guidelines should you be aware of when choosing the right prenatal vitamin for you?
[READ: Best Pharmacist-Recommended Prenatal Vitamins.]
What Are Prenatal Vitamins?
Prenatal vitamins are daily supplements recommended for pregnant people or people trying to get pregnant, which contain important nutrients for fetal growth and development. At minimum, prenatal vitamins should contain contain a combination of nutrients including:
— Folic acid, which is a form of vitamin B9, or folate
— Iron
— Iodine
— Calcium
— Choline
Above all, doctors and dietitians emphasize folic acid, which is a synthetic form of vitamin B9 — or folate — as the most important ingredient in a prenatal vitamin. Taking some form of folate is critical in the early days of your pregnancy, as folate supports your baby’s spinal cord development, aids in DNA and RNA creation and helps your body form healthy red blood cells and amino acids.
Folate vs. folic acid
You may notice that some vitamins label themselves as containing “folate” but their ingredient list actually contains “folic acid.” Lisa Jones, a registered dietitian based in Philadelphia, explains that folate and folic acid are almost the same thing, but not quite. The difference is that folate is the natural form of the vitamin, found in whole foods like spinach or oranges, whereas folic acid is a synthetic form, used in supplements and fortified foods.
Many prenatal vitamins contain forms of folate, such as folic acid or methylfolate, instead of natural folate because folate, found in some foods, tends to require chemical changes before it can be used in supplements. Another form of folate commonly used in supplements is methylfolate, a biologically active form of the vitamin. While both forms of folate can benefit your body during pregnancy, some vitamin manufacturers recommend methylfolate over folic acid supplements due to concerns that people with a specific gene variation cannot process folic acid.
However, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people with this gene variation can process all types of folate, including folic acid. The CDC adds that folic acid is “the only type of folate shown to help prevent neural tube defects.” The CDC recommends taking 400 micrograms of folic acid daily before and during your pregnancy.
Still, if you have questions about what type of folate is best for you, consider talking to your doctor about your concerns.
Further, while the above nutrients are important to look for, prenatal vitamins can come with a much longer list of ingredients. Additional nutrients your prenatal vitamin may contain include vitamin A, B vitamins, vitamin E and DHA.
[Read: Fertility Diet: What to Eat If You Want to Get Pregnant Faster]
What Makes a Good Prenatal Vitamin?
While prenatal vitamins are packed with various nutrients, one prenatal vitamin isn’t necessarily better than another. That is, so long as your vitamin contains a form of folate — which doctors say is key.
What’s more, the nutrients and minerals in a prenatal vitamin are necessary for your baby’s biochemistry, says Dr. G. Thomas Ruiz, a board-certified OB-GYN and lead OB-GYN at MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, California. He explains that they aid in brain-building and function too.
Choosing the right product for you and your baby can come down to a conversation with your doctor about what makes the most sense for your body, and what form of vitamin you are most comfortable taking. In some cases, their recommendations may be less ingredient-based and more about other aspects of the vitamin, such as their shapes, size and dosing schedule. For instance, some vitamins are meant to be taken once a day whereas others could require a twice-a-day schedule. Additionally, prenatal vitamins can come in pills, capsules or gummy form.
Ruiz says that patients often prefer to take gummy vitamins, as they can be easier to chew and tolerate than large pills.
“The big negative of (pill) prenatal vitamins is that they’re so big and they make people nauseated when they take them,” — especially during the first trimester, when morning sickness is likely to occur, Ruiz says.
[Early Signs of Pregnancy: Symptoms to Watch For]
When to Start Taking Prenatal Vitamins
OB-GYNs recommend starting a prenatal vitamin about a month before you conceive — or, since this may be difficult to predict, whenever you start trying to get pregnant. By starting early, you’re supporting your baby in its earliest stages of development.
“I want folate in your system when you get pregnant,” Ruiz says. For patients over the age of 35, he recommends beginning prenatal vitamins even earlier — suggesting about three months in advance of an expected pregnancy.
If you have an unplanned pregnancy, however, or were for other reasons unable to start your prenatal vitamins early, don’t fret. Dr. Maria Sophocles, a board-certified OB-GYN and chief medical director at Women’s Healthcare of Princeton in Princeton, New Jersey, says that starting prenatal vitamins once you find out you are pregnant — or even a few days after your pregnancy begins — is usually just fine.
Sophocles explains that, thanks to fortified foods, it is uncommon for women in the U.S. to be experiencing a folate deficiency — which could be very dangerous during pregnancy. However, that doesn’t mean it isn’t a good idea to give your body and your baby extra support — doctors recommend starting prenatal vitamins as soon as you are aware that you need them for best results.
When to stop taking prenatal vitamins?
Once you start taking prenatal vitamins, you should continue taking these through your baby’s birth and while you are breastfeeding.
Ruiz explains that prenatal vitamins can aid you and your baby during the breastfeeding period.
“It takes a tremendous amount of energy for a woman’s body to produce breast milk,” he explains. Prenatal vitamins work with your metabolism to make the task easier.
When you are done breastfeeding, you can stop taking prenatal vitamins. But don’t worry if you continue the habit a little longer — unless your doctor has warned you otherwise, these nutrients shouldn’t be harmful to your non-pregnant body.
Do prenatal vitamins help you get pregnant?
While you can take prenatal vitamins without being pregnant — and should, if you are trying to conceive — doing so will not help you get pregnant. These vitamins are “strictly for fetal development,” Ruiz says.
[READ: Vitamins and Minerals: the Essentials for Women.]
Who Shouldn’t Take Prenatal Vitamins?
While doctors recommend most people who are pregnant or trying to get pregnant take prenatal vitamins, there are some exceptions to this rule. For instance, if you are allergic to ingredients in prenatal vitamins or at risk for health issues if taking too much of a certain nutrient, you should not take prenatal vitamins.
Some examples of patients who may not tolerate prenatal vitamins include:
— People with allergies to ingredients in the vitamin, including dyes
— People with certain liver diseases, like liver cirrhosis or hemochromatosis. If you have these conditions, it can be dangerous for you to supplement with iron.
— People with certain kinds of anemia, like thalassemia major. Extra iron can also pose dangers to people with thalassemia major.
— People who have alcohol use disorder. Alcohol use disorder puts stress on your liver, and adding in extra fat-soluble vitamins can increase this stress. Alcohol also impairs the body’s ability to properly absorb nutrients like folate.
If you fall into any of the above categories, talk to your doctor about alternative medications to take or dietary changes to make to increase your nutrient intake before or during your pregnancy.
Some alternatives your doctor might suggest include:
— If you are allergic to ingredients in one type of prenatal vitamin, consider if there is another type that doesn’t contain the ingredient you are allergic to.
— If you cannot tolerate one ingredient, like iron, look for a vitamin with a shorter ingredient list — or consider taking a folic acid supplement that is not combined with other nutrients.
— If you cannot tolerate the above options — or depending on your doctor’s advice — consider bulking up your diet to add more folate and other healthy dietary nutrients to support your baby’s growth.
Nutrient-Rich Diet for Pregnancy
The nutrients in prenatal vitamins can also be found in foods you know and love — depending on your taste preference. With this in mind, it’s a great idea to keep a nutrient-dense diet during pregnancy
— and dietitians encourage it. Still, experts tend to recommend dietary changes as a compliment to prenatal vitamins and not as an alternative, unless OK’d by your doctor.
“In an ideal world, a perfect diet could provide all nutrients, but most people don’t eat perfectly every day,” Jones says. “Prenatal vitamins fill gaps — especially for folate, iron and DHA, which can be hard to get in ideal amounts from food alone.”
But if you’re looking for dietary ways to compliment your vitamin intake, the options are abundant. Particularly if you are looking to increase your folate intake, Jones suggests opting for more foods like:
— Leafy greens, such as spinach and kale
— Citrus fruits, such as oranges and grapefruits
— Beans, such as black beans and chickpeas
— Lentils
— Avocados
— Nuts
— Seeds
— Some fortified cereals, breads and pastas
“Eating a variety of these foods daily can naturally support folate needs during pregnancy,” Jones says. Paired with prenatal vitamins, you’ll have a “pregnancy safety net” to catch your nutrient needs.
More from U.S. News
6 Surprising Things That Age You
Staying Regular on Vacation: 11 Secrets from Frequent Travelers
11 Best Foods High in Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Everything You Need to Know About Prenatal Vitamins originally appeared on usnews.com
