Prenatal Vitamins - Salt Lake City,UT

I am a midwife with 3 daughters. I did not take prenatal vitamins and all of my kids are very healthy. Studies have shown that the majority of vitamins are peed out anyway. There is a joke that the United States has the most expensive urine because of all the vitamins people buy and then lose in their urine. The reason you feel nauseated is because your body does not know what to do with the vitamins. The best thing to do is to just eat healthy. And for the women that will harp on you about folic acid, you only need that for the first 4 weeks after that the neural tube is closed and if it did not close there is nothing you can do about it now. And a lot of our foods have folic acid added to it.
Stop taking them and relax, you will not hurt your baby.

L.

2 moms found this helpful

How far along are you? One of the primary reasons for the pushing of prenatal vitamins is to make sure women are getting enough folic acid to prevent spina bifida. The overall use is so when women don't eat well during pregnancy -at least their bodies and the fetus are getting some nutrients. If you're out of the 1st trimester and you honestly eat a balanced and healthy diet full of fruits, vegetables, carbohydrates from whole grains and lean protein -then you should probably be fine. Talk to your doctor about it and see what she says. If you're having issues with eating lots of foods and are living on bread or crackers or one specific thing all the time -I would say keep taking them.

2 moms found this helpful

Prenatal vitamins made me sick too. To this day I can't even smell them. Try taking two Flintstones vitamins, might make a difference. That's what my OB suggested for me.

1 mom found this helpful

My prenatals made me sick as well. My doctor told me to take one Flintstone vitamin in the morning and one at night. So I've been doing this and haven't gotten sick since. Bonus--my 3 year old son finally takes his Flintstone vitamin since mommy does. ;)

1 mom found this helpful

I found gummy pre-natals at Target that do not make me sick. I don't know about you but I have so many food aversions right now that there is no way I am eating right so I take the vitamins.

I wouldn't recommend not taking them. You're baby needs folic acid most of all! I would try taking a folic acid supplement (ask your doc about mg) and I've heard of people taking a Flintstones vitamin when they get sick. I had no trouble, thankfully, but I think the Flintstones is more common than you'd think! Just remember to take folic acid!!!!!!

I just made sure that I took them with breakfast, and I felt fine. The empty stomach was too much for me, even at 7 months post partum.

I second the chewable flinstones. My ob suggested them bc everything else made me sick

Prenatals are the devil sometimes. They made me extremely sick with my first and Im 38 weeks with number 2 and probably have only taken 2 in the last month since I am already nauseas and sick most of the time without them. Try taking them with dinner or breakfast, I always got less sick or not sick at all when I took them with lots of food.

M.,

Prenatal vitamins are an extremely important part of a pregnant woman’s diet. The fact of the matter is that most people just don’t get enough of certain vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that they need on a daily basis. This is especially true for the pregnant woman, as she needs specific nutrients not only for her own health and well being, but to help her baby grow and develop as he or she should. Two of the most important ingredients in prenatal vitamins are Folic Acid and Iron. Folic Acid, a B vitamin, is known to reduce the chances that a baby will have a neural tube defect such as spina bifida. Iron is necessary because of the extra blood that a woman’s body must produce in order to carry precious nutrients to her baby. Without enough iron, a woman runs the risk of anemia, which is especially dangerous during pregnancy.

The problem with prenatal vitamins is that, very often, they will make a woman feel sick. There are a variety of possible explanations for this. Some prenatal vitamins have artificial colors or flavors that may irritate a woman’s stomach, and trigger morning sickness. For other women, the iron content may be higher than what they need, and also cause nausea. In other cases, it may be the format that the iron is delivered in that causes a problem.

The good news is, there are hope. When you take the prenatal vitamin in the isotonic form, it has none of the artificial color and flavors tablet form prenatal has. It is a powder you can mix with appropriate amount of water, and it will not irritate your stomach.

http://www.marketamerica.com/product-10106/isotonix-prena...
Some contents:
Iron 20 mg: Iron is an important mineral found in prenatal vitamins and is responsible for helping the mother and the baby’s blood to carry oxygen. Iron deficiencies can lead to severe birth defects for the baby. As an essential mineral, iron is part of hemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying component of the blood. The demand for iron, essential for blood formation, is also significantly increased during pregnancy because the mother's blood volume increases and the fetal red blood cells have to be developed. In order to support fetal tissue growth, blood volume and contents must grow to help feed these tissues, including red blood cells. Further, about one-third of the mother’s iron storage will be passed on to her developing baby in order to form its blood and to be stored for future use.

Magnesium (Carbonate) 100 mg: Magnesium, an essential mineral, promotes normal bone, protein and fatty acid formation, cell formation, activation of B vitamins, muscle relaxation, blood clotting, and formation of adenosine triphosphate (ATP; the energy the body runs on). Magnesium promotes the health of bones (64 percent of the body's magnesium is concentrated in the bones). It supports normal bone structure and plays an essential role in more than 300 cellular reactions. Magnesium may help maintain normal blood pressure and muscle comfort during pregnancy.

Zinc (Lactate) 7.5 mg: Zinc is an essential mineral that is a component of more than 300 enzymes that support normal healing, fertility in adults and growth in children, protein synthesis, cell reproduction, vision, immune function, and protection against free radicals, among other functions. Zinc supports normal growth and development during pregnancy.

Molybdenum (Sodium molybdate) 50 mcg: Molybdenum is an essential trace mineral that supports the proper function of certain enzyme-dependent processes, including the metabolism of iron, which is extremely important for pregnant women.

As pregnancy creates hormonal changes, and excess hormones needs to efficiently detoxed out of the body. Have a good additional of Digestive Enzyme will be extremely helpful.
http://www.marketamerica.com/product-2227/isotonix-digest...

Hope that is helpful.

shi Y.

i was this way with my first child. someone suggested taking them right before i went to sleep. it worked for me. good luck!

You SHOULD get all your vitamins from your diet. That said, I have no idea how you eat... I would think that you can look at what is available in the prenatals (the prescripion ones have hardly anything in them, at least much less than I took before I was pregnant) and then do some rsearch on what type of foods you need to be eating, in what quantities, to get what you need. This is not impossible to do. Vitamins are most important in the first trimester when the fetus is still forming - this is when you would get the problems without having folic acid for example.
I have a book called "what's going on in there" that carefully outlines what happns during what phases of pregnancy and talks about if you are exposed to what chemcials, or don't have enough of what vitamins at what stage, what results from that.
Nutrition gets complicated when you consider that some things work against you like coffee... or even that if you drink milk (calcium) with your vitamin C, that you cannot absorb your vitamin C. These are all good things to know actually, for when you start feeding your baby solid foods. The first 2 years of nutrition for your baby are the most important in his life.
So I think you can do this and be super healthy, if you are willing ot do a bit of research. Vitamins only make up for eating an unhealthy American diet. Eat healthy, get what you need, and you shouldn't need vitamins. (except calcium - the calcium you need during pregnancy is really high).

I would definitely ask your OB. Ask for as many different samples that they can give you. I had to try 7 different vitamins when I got pregnant with my 1st because they all made me sick or get a HUGE headache. Finally, I found one that worked for me. When I got pregnant with my 2nd, they weren't covered on my insurance, so I had to pay $60 a month, but it was worth it to not be sick.

I have a friend who doesn't take them, and her kids have all turned out fine. But, I also know a girl who didn't take any prenatals because they weren't covered on their insurance & were too expensive at the time. She didn't get enough folic acid, and her son was born with Spina Bifida. He is mentally very smart, but he can't to walk without his walker or run around with his friends. To this day, she feels awful that it was basically her "fault" that he was born with it because she didn't get enough folic acid in her diet. You have to decide if the possibility of your baby having problems outweighs being sick for 9 or so months.

I hope that whatever you decide, you have a healthy happy baby!

S.

What about fortified cereal? Or orange juice? Or ovaltine in your milk? Thats what I do, sometimes I remember to take a Flintstones vitamin, but usually I don't because they make me throw up. When I am not pregnant I take a daily vitamin. I eat healthy and folic acid is very important before pregnancy and the first trimester. Protein and calcium are very important.

I didn't take them with my son and I was so much less sick.

I didn't read the posts, so this might be a repeat, but try just a regular ole chewable flintstones with a meal. My OB said it was better than nothing. (I often just went with nothing, but that's cause I'm super forgetful).

Feel better soon!

Talk to your doctor about the most important vitamins to take & then take some separately without the multi-vitamin. At the top of the list of importance is usually folate.

Usually it's the iron that makes people nauseous. I started taking a prenatal that didn't have iron and then made sure to get a lot of iron in the food I was eating - iron-fortified cereals are easiest.

Talk to your OB. He or she should be able to help you navigate what's best for you & your baby. Good luck!

have you talked to your dr about them? i had to try several samples they gave me before we found one that was right for me. i took prenate dha. try them - they have a nice coating on them that make them slippery and easy to take and they always seemed like they had a nice vanilla after taste. i had no ill affects from them. i took them about an hr after i ate dinner. i felt great on them - better than i ever felt. i took them for almost 2 years (pregnancy and during breast feeding). they arent just for the baby, they also help you with the change your body is going through in terms of all your resources being depleted for the baby.

M. I didn't read the responses so sorry if its a repeat. I was not good about taking my prenatal vitamins with any of my 3 kids. Like you they made me sick. I did find that if I took them after I ate (even though it says on an empty stomach) I felt much better. They do make these "vitamins" that are made from plants and are supposed to be great, especially when you are pregant. Never taken them but heard good things about them.
Good luck and congrats on the upcoming little one!
M. P

Hi M.,
I took perfect prenatal from whole foods. They are made from whole foods so I didnt feel anything. in fact the recomended dose is 3/day and I took 2/day at the same time b/c they are pricey and I wanted to conserve some. see if you can try it.

Have you tried Citrical? My first pre-natals made me ill, the burping and tasting it was horrible. The citrical smells and taste like the lick-a-maid sticks. My friend was getting sick and i told her to ask her dr about citrical and she loved them too. If you are not going to take them be sure you get a ton of folic acid. I think peanut butter crunch was one of the cereals with the highest folic % that I found. (I think its been a while since i was concerned about prenatal health)

I couldn't take prenatals either...I was so sick! But I wasn't sick when taking my regular womens formula vitamin. It did not have all the same levels as the prenatals but I find that it is easy to make up the difference with my diet. But like others have said, double check with your doctor - mine was not happy about it with my first baby but I am now pregnant with #3 and he doesn't question it anymore.

I have heard of a few people who just take the folic acid supplement, while they are sick or at beginning of pregnancy when they aren't feeling well. Then once the hormones are a bit more balanced and tolerable, they switch back to taking the prenatal vitamin.

Congratulations of the pregnancy!

Are you taking them after eating a meal? Have you tried liquid form? Source of Life-Natures Plus has liquid- you could take just a portion of the daily amount with each meal.
I agree with the midwife below that stated that most of the vitamins are passed through our system anyway...in most cases- if you are taking the worthless brands (such as the suggested flintstones) Check out some interesting info at www.oligofructosecomplex.com I was astounded at the amount of vitamins needed in order to actually be effective. ...in most cases. Now I know better!
Hugs and wish you the best with the baby!!! ;)

I hated taking prenatal vitamins, they made me sick also. With both my kids the doctors suggested taking 2 Flintstones vitamins daily. They're both happy and healthy, and some days I swear they are smarter than I am, so Flinstones must have worked fine.

I couldn't take prenatals at all when I was pregnant. It had no ill effects I can tell on my kids. There is NO point in taking them if they make you throw up or if they make you bleed when you go to teh bathroom (then you are losing all that iron anyway).

I did have to take perscription iron during both prgenancies. My last son, my doctor told me to take Flinstones chewables + the iron he perscribed. And that's what I did.

I took the prenatals after the kids were born to help me keep my energy up while nursing them. I was fine with them AFTER the kids were born.

And definitely check with your ob/gyn, but mine said that folic acid mattered more BEFORE I got pregnant than during. Of course, I am pretty old mommy, so maybe that had something to do with his ideas about that.

Your baby should be fine. Healthy babies were born for thousands of years before we had these vitamins, and yes, they do make some women (like me) really, really sick.

i took chewable childrens vitamins(Flintstones) and my dr was ok with it. I would definitely talk to your dr and take something!!!

I agree with a lot of the women that you need to consult your doctor! It's important for your baby's growth and development to get extra folic acid, omega-3 fatty acids, and it's important for your body to get extra iron and research is reporting that Vitamin D is more beneficial than once thought.

It is true that we should get most of our vitamins and minerals from the food we eat. That being said, there's a very small percentage of people who can actually accomplish that! Even if we eat as healthy as we can, our soil is so depleted of so many vital elements these days, that our "healthy" food isn't as healthy as it should be!

I am pregnannt with my fourth child right now and it's very important to me to live my life as healthy as I can and to provide a healthy environment for my growing babies! I've read as many articles as I can get my hands on and spoken with so many health professionals. I lean more towards holistic health than modern medicine and believe in preventative actions and try to stay away from prescription and over-the-counter medications. My family has started taking Life Force Products, specifically Body Balance, the OsteoCare products and Vitali-C Plus. Body Balance is a whole food, liquid supplement. I take this as a substitute for my prenatal pills and take extra folic acid. The OsteoCare products provide Omega-3 fatty acids, Vitamin D, calcium and magnesium, among other things. And the Vitali-C is wonderful to use to help keep your immune system up and running well, and to fight off sickness in the event you start feeling symptoms. These are amazing products and Life Force, Int. is an amazing company (it's been around for over 25 years)! I think these products are so beneficial that I've started selling them to friends and family! Anyway, I don't mean to turn this into a sales pitch, I just like to provide people with information and options, which is what I like to have! If you'd like some info, the website link to use is www.mylifeforce.net/catie - the website provides many great informative articles! These products are backed by thousands of health care professionals. If you have any further questions, feel free to email me at ____@____.com luck to you and congratulations on your pregnancy!

Hi M.,

Don't skip the added nutrition. Prenatals are important if they are the right ones. Omegas are critical for eye and brain development as well.

Whether pregnant or not, vitamins should always be taken with a large meal. It should be nutrition that is absorbed at the same time nutrition is supposed to be absorbed. Avoid the Flintstones. They do more harm than good. They, like many OTC brands, create free radicals that cause major diseases like cancers. You need an absorbable vitamin that absorbs like food does. If you're interested in me sending you some info let me know. There is a good prenatal and a chewable if you want to go that route....

God bless and Congratulations!

M.

I couldn't take them either. Upset stomach and major constipation...bad enough to send me to the hospital. Amway makes a vitamin called Double X and I loved it. That is what I took. No problems at all and my Dr. approved. You can get it from my mom's website... http://www.amway.com/nancysnook? Or just go there to check out the ingredients. All of the Amway vitamins are very well made. Some of the top ones on the market!

I know I was supposed to take prenatal vitamins when I was pregnant but I only did for about a month, lol. I hated taking them because I'm horrible when it comes to taking pills. I eventually stopped. My 21 month old little girl is healthy. :)

I would ask your doctor just to make sure.

I tried taking them for a week the first time I was pregnant and felt awful so I quit. I didn't even bother the second time. I figure I eat very healthy and prenatals haven't been around very long and the human population seems just fine. By the way, I think both my boys turned out just about perfect despite their prenatal-free mom!

Yeah I couldn't take them too. It just made me extremely nauseous. My doctor told me it's ok not to take them as long as I was eating healthy. I did take calcium supplement (I couldn't drink any milk/eat yogurt too during 1st trimester) , and omega 3, both which my doctor recommended. My baby though born early, is perfectly healthy.

added: I read the other answers and thought I should add this. I did take folic acid entire pregancy along with calcium and omega 3. Folic acid is very very important, and it doesn't make you sick. Prenatals has it included but for people like us, taking just folic acid is an option. I forget how many milligrams I took, sorry. I had tried flintstones chewable like many others have mentioned.Didn't work for me.

I am expecting my third baby in march and I am not taking any vitamins. All my kids are healthy. So my opinion is you should be fine not taking prenatal vitamins but that is just my opinion.