Prenatal Vitamins

Prenatal vitamins are supplements taken before and during pregnancy. They ensure you receive a fuller nutritional profile to produce a healthy pregnancy, as not everyone gets all the nutrients they need from their diet. These vitamins also tend to contain higher amounts of certain nutrients — such as iron or folic acid — than supplements like multivitamins do to help support a healthy pregnancy.

When choosing prenatal vitamins, you should be aware of which ones are beneficial to take, as there are many options available. Consider putting these on your list:

• Folic acid: Folic acid helps prevent birth defects affecting your baby’s brain and spinal cord. It’s helpful to have adequate folic acid at the beginning of your pregnancy.
• Iron: Iron facilitates red blood cell production, which ensures your body has enough oxygen to give the baby throughout your pregnancy.
• Vitamin A: This vitamin can support your baby’s organ, skeleton and eye development, as well as bodily systems like the respiratory system. Taking too much can be harmful to the fetus, so ask for your doctor’s recommendation.
• Vitamin C: Vitamin C boosts the immune system and protects cells to help you and your baby stay healthy. It also helps build bones and muscles and maintains collagen production.
• Vitamin D and calcium: Vitamin D works together with calcium to help your baby’s bones develop.
• Vitamin E: Vitamin E may be beneficial in preventing pregnancy complications like pre-eclampsia. Like other vitamins, it also supports healthy red blood cells, eyes and skin.

Upping your intake of omega-3 fatty acids is also a good idea to support your baby’s brain growth. This nutrient comes from foods like nuts, seeds and fatty fish. If you don’t often eat these foods, however, consider trying an omega-3 supplement.

Start taking prenatal vitamins a few months before conceiving to prepare your body with the right nutrients for pregnancy.

As with any medication or supplement, prenatal vitamins can cause side effects. These mainly include nausea and constipation. Iron can cause constipation, but you can prevent or treat this by incorporating more fiber into your diet, exercising, drinking more water or taking a stool softener with your doctor’s approval.

If you experience increased nausea while taking prenatal vitamins, you can reduce this by ingesting your vitamins in a form other than pills, such as a liquid formula or gummies.

Whether you need a fertility consultation or prenatal supplements for a current or future pregnancy, Hann’s Fertility Pharmacy can assist. We support growing families by helping them understand medications, fertility injections and everything else they need to know for healthy pregnancies.

Get in touch with us for over-the-counter supplements or other services throughout your pregnancy journey.