Favorite Prenatal Vitamin??

Trader Joe's Prenatal Vitamins are great AND it is a one-dose vitamin, unlike the first bottle I got at a health food store - a dose was SIX vitamins!!!

Good luck!

Dear T.,
I have learned a lot about vitamins recently and the problem with most one a days out there is that the human body is not capable of absorbing 100% of it's needs in one go...........so I would not recommend you waste your money on anything over the counter, because most of it is LITERALLY being flushed away. Many vitamins out there also have a lot of unneccessary garbage in them, like Kodak film and other fillers. YUCK!
I take superior quality vitamins and supplements because I have learned that most others are a total waste of money.
I still take my prenatals because i am breastfeeding and i LOVE them. The absorption process is amazing because so much of the vitamins and minerals ARE absorbed so my body can feel the difference as oppossed to the stuff i used to use. The DHA and EPA are high and they are formulated with mostly pure cold water Omega-3 Fish Oils................
They are not available over the counter, only through the wellness company.........it's simple enough to get them though, and they are delivered to your front door (you'll soon see as a busy mom that you'll want all your necessities and your fresh fruit and diapers and everything possible delivered to your front door!).
Feel free to let me know if you want to learn more about them. They really are superior and unfortunately, most doctors know very little about nutrition and absorption, so I would not recommend getting a prescription for vitamins, because those are probably very low quality and very low absorption.
I hope I have helped educate the masses! Cause I sure didn't know about this before. (So anyone taking a one a day, in the mean time, until you find a better product, get in the habit of taking your vitamins AM and PM to at least help your body a tiny bit more....since you already spent your money on them, you might as well use them up, right?)
S.
____@____.com

i think the one i took was called Super Nutrition ..one a day..is easy on the tummy..and when you get pregnant..you take it right before you go to bed at night ..helps cut down on morning sickness if you take it right before bedtime.

I took prenate dha is what I took while pregnant and they were very gental on my tummy. It is good to start taking them about a year before becoming pregnant. I'm going to try for my second in about a year. My dr just prescribed folic acid. Good luck!

Hi T.,
My company carries completely nontoxic (all raw ingredients checked for over 300 contaminants) vitamins and their prenatal program really can make a difference in the health of babies. They also have a patented system that puts folic acid on the outside to give the folic acid maximum bioavailability in your body (very difficult for your body to absorb when inside a pill). It takes about 4 months for red blood cells to reproduce themselves, so starting beforehand to get your body ready is a great idea! I'd be blad to share more information with you if you'd like.
J.

It is made by a company called Biotics. Their supplements are not available in stores. They don't require a prescription but are only sold in offices, like by chiropractors, etc. They are great andhighly recommended.

I was a big fan of Natachew! I hate swallowing pills and these were chewable and tasted ok.

Hope that helps!

S. B

Citracil Prenatal plus DHA. I might be spelling that wrong, but it's great and I had fewer problems with nausea than with others I tried. A bit more expensive, but if you can do it it's worth it. Some people are iffy about DHA supplements-- it's supposed to help with brain development, and is naturally ocurring in fish. Since fewer types of fish are recommended during pregnancy these days, I appreciated knowing I was getting the supplement elsewhere. And hey, not only my Western doctors but even my acupuncturist recommended it!

T.,
Biotics Research makes a great prenatal pack. The iron is separate so you can take it out if it bothers your stomach, like it did me. (Then up your intake of iron rich foods). It also has a high quality, pure fish oil and vitamin E. There is no regulation on vitamins. I wouldn't get a prescription prenatal. They have hydrogenated oils and poor D and E forms. Biotics is available through Dr's. I was a rep for the company before I had my baby 8 months ago :-) and can direct you to a Dr near you that sells them. They are superior than anything in Whole Foods or by prescription. They have a lab in Texas and assay all raw materials first. They also publish research regularly. Their lab is FDA approved (most vitamin companies are not). If you want extra fish oils. I ONLY use Biotics and Nordic Naturals. From what I remember they are the only 2 companies whose fish oils are accepted for sale in Europe. EU has very strict standards on mercury and PCBS. These are free of them.

I have had no problems with CitraNatal90 DHA (Citracal) so I guess you could say I love them! Congratulations and good luck!

My son is 14 mos old and I really liked CitriNatal with DHA. But you should choose one that is compatible with you. Good luck!

I went through about five different ones with my first pregnancy. All but one made me really nauseus, even if I took it at bedtime. The onet hat worked for me was Twin Lab Prenatals. Two capsules before bedtime and you're golden! Between pregnancies and breastfeeding, I've been on them for three years now!

They're pretty reasonable at vitacost.com, too.

Good luck!

I just bought OTC generic brand vitamins at 1st but then when I got pregnant the OB prescribed me a certain kind that had all of the right levels of vitamins and minerals. If you want to be sure that you are getting the right kind go see your OB/gyn for your annual or a checkup and ask them to prescribe you some prenatal vitamins.

I would recommend the Prenatal by Integrative therapeutics. A lot of chiropractors sell them. The levels are higher in the areas of B's and Vitamin C. The rest were too weak and a waste of time. Also, add in Omega 3 oils with DHA. If you can handle the fish variety it is the better option. However, some people don't like or are allergic to fish. If that is the case with you then take Flax Oil. You will have to take considerably more pills than with the fish variety. I also added in extra C and Zinc (especially if I knew I was going to be out in public a lot that day to help prevent colds). My baby is incredibly healthy and VERY intelligent (of course all mothers say so, but when the doctor tells you that because of higher level of development than normal, I tend to believe it since they see many kids).

HI T.. I have two lovely toddler girls (2.5 yrs and 13 months). For both of them, I went to the Whole Foods Store and bought a prenatal vitamin there. I had forgotten the brand, but it's awesome because it didn't make me nauseated. I was on prescribed prenatals for a month with my first baby, and I was sick everyday, the whole day. I got advise from a more holistic practitioner and he suggested the more mild and more natural prenatals at Whole Foods. I wouldn't go back to prescription ones ever again.

Hi T.! My fave (by far!) is Rainbow Light Prenatal One Multivitamin. Buy the big bottle when it goes on sale at drugstore.com. You only have to take one a day, and it is super easy to digest. Love it. I also took an omega-3 (I like Barlean's - also easy to digest). Good luck to you!

Just about every prenatal vitamin made me sick to my stomach, even when taken with food. I found that the Target regular multi-vitamin was fairly close to the prenatals - I took fish oil as well. Anyway, I took one with breakfast and one with dinner. MUCH cheaper, and I believe just as "nutritious." Good luck!

T.,

I think it depends on your budget and your body. You may have to experiment a bit.

Based upon my experience, I used to take Rainbow Light Complete Prenatal system. It is a 100% food based vitamin. As long as I took it with food or some substinance (i.e. not an empty stomach) it was great. Food based vitamins are generally more easily absorbed by the body.

Recently I've switched. Not because I was dissatisfied with the Rainbow Light, but because I just have a very difficult time choking down pills. My husband picked up Natures Plus liquid prenatal. It is basically a juice. It tastes a lot like Odwalla Super Food juice. It is VERY easy to take, but I still have to take it with some food or other substinance otherwise it will make my stomach hurt.

I highly recommend either Rainbow Light or the Nature's Plus (they also have an awesome childrens multi that is liquid and much easier to give than tablets and not as "candy" like as gummies ... which is a winner in our house - for future reference).

For REALLY AWESOME deals/prices check out Vitacost.com. We've been using them for over 5 years for our vitamins and they are hands down the best prices out there.

Good luck!

P.s. I'm 33, soon to be 34, if that makes any difference. ;o)

HI there:

I really liked the prenatal from the GNC store-I still take it while we contemplate getting ready for baby #2. Best of luck.

Hi T.......the most important part about choosing a prenatal vitamin is the one with 800 mcg or 1 mg of folic acid as taking folic acid 3-4 months prior to your pregnancy will reduce chances of some abnormalaties such as early loss of pregnancy or fetal neural tube defects and preterm labor.I suggest you start taking this now because you are considered advance maternal age when you give birth at 35.good luck with your pregnancy and becoming a new mom.
ps:there is not any study or research that indicates or prove taking prenatal vits with DHA or omega3 are supperior or improve fetal brain....all you need is a healthy life style...eating the healthy food including exercise...not paying for expensive prenatal vitamins thinking they are any better....my advise is from 28 years taking care of ob patients.

I am approaching my second pregnancy and am using the same pre-natal vitamin as with my first. My OB/GYN prescribed CitraNatal with DHA. This was a great one. I used the one with 250DHA capsules. This vitamin duo contains stool softener which is great since pre-natals can cause constipation. Check with your OB/GYN and tell her/him the suggestions and see what is suggested by your doc. All the best to you. Motherhood is the BEST and is worth it completely.

Garden of life
(living vitamins)

Hi T.,
I am 35 with an eight year old son named Kai. I would like to share with you that I found a company called New Chapter Organics. Their vitamins are a touch pricey, but they are totally worth it, and can be taken on an empty stomach. They are made in a base of tumeric and ginger. They contain lots of probiotic activity, so they are great for digestion. I don't have to take separate acidophilus pills anymore! Anyway, just thought I'd let you know. By the way, you can find them at natural food stores like Whole Foods. Let me know if I can help more!

I am currently 8 months pregnant and I found only one prenatal vitamin that did not upset my stomach. It is Prenate DHA. It is a gel cap so it easy for your body to absorb and it does not taste horrible like other prenatal vitamins! You should definitley give this vitamin a try now if you are planning to get pregnant since you are supose to start taking folic acid before becomming pregnant! It is a bit expensive (about $50 for a month supply) but if you have insurance it will most likely cover it.

My OB/GYN gave me a prescription for prenatals (Primacare One), but then I went to a new OB who told me that a prescription isn't necessary. Now I'm taking GNC's prenatals, and a DHA supplement from Expecta. Works for me! (DHA is very important for prenatal care.)

I've been taking prescription Prenatal RX1 since I started trying about 2 years ago. My OB wrote a prescription for "prenatal vitamins" because I knew I wanted to take a generic. I worked at the pharmacy at the time, so I went through and sniffed all the tablets. Prenatal RX1 has a vanilla coating, so it smells really good. There was one month that the pharmacy switched brands on me, and they smelled so bad that I couldn't take them.

Dear T.,
I don't remember the vitamin I used - 6 years ago, but I'm sure they are all different now. I know I tried a few brands until I found one that didn't make me sick. Ask your doctor for samples and try them out - it doesn't hurt to take them early. That way you can get the one that works best with your body.

Good luck!

L.

I don't really have a favorite prenatal, but my friend advised me to take a vitamin with folic acid (like One-A-Day Women's) before getting pregnant. After finding out the good news that we were expecting, I was advised to keep taking folic acid. I wasn't prescribed prenatals until after my 8th week pregnancy check up. Hope this helps and good luck :)

Rainbow Light Prenatal One was the one I liked and took. Good luck to you! And check with your doctor, but I think also taking Omega 3's are good.

R.

I highly recommend prenate elite. This one is fantastic because if you are trying to conceive it has higher levels of folic acid which is so important (i know I had a child with a neural tube defect) plus it doesnt make you sick to your tummy and its only one pill, they also have this one with DHA which is good too. I think its prescription only.

Good for you! Start taking your prenatals now. I've been on prenatals on and off since before my first was born, so I've tried several different brands, Target, Costco, but the ones I am taking now and just love, I got from Henry's. They are Super Nutrition Prenatal/Postnatal. You take 3 in the morning after a meal and 3 in the evening after a meal. I've never felt nauseas and they have great stuff in them that you won't find in your average prenatal vitamin.

Best of luck to you,
M.

Hi T.,

I am not pregnant either right now but trying to be pregnant again. I've been taking prenatal multivitamin since I was pregnant with my 2.7 years old boy. I was 41 when I had him.
The doctor's office gave me the prenatal multivitamin to take during the pregnancy since I didn't do that before I was pregnant. The reason being was that she wanted to make sure that I got enough folic acid for the baby's growth and health.
Make sure you get between ###-###-#### mcg (so I was told). Check with your doctor.