Prenatal Vitamins

Prenatal care is not only important for the growing baby, but also for you.  If you are planning a pregnancy or just found out your are pregnant start taking prenatal vitamins now.  Most women assume that prenatal vitamins are for the growing baby, but in actuality they are for the woman who is pregnant.  The baby is going to take nutrients from the mother in anyway possible.  If mom isn't getting enough calcium in her body, then the baby will take calcium from mom.  One of my co-workers was telling me that she was eating a piece of cake with confection sprinkles on it a few months after her pregnancy, and the confection sprinkle she bit down on wedged itself in between two of her molars and broke them both. Yeah, that's because baby needed more calcium for his bones and she just happened to have a plethora of calcium available for him to steal! 

What kind of prenatal vitamins should I buy?
Ask your doctor first, because not all prenatal vitamins are the same.  Meijer Pharmacy has the free prenatal vitamins that include DHA in one pill.  If you get the over the counter prenatal vitamins, such as :
Women's One-A-Day

You are going to be taking an extra pill each day, because the DHA pill is separate form the other vitamin.  And when you have morning/all day sickness you will not want to take ANY pills.  Try to look for a prenatal that includes DHA, then you won't have to take a separate DHA (fish oil) pill.

My OB had me take an additional calcium + vitamin D pill with the prenatal.  Because your body needs vitamin D to absorb calcium and calcium is SUPER important to take during pregnancy, it cannot all fit in one prenatal vitamin; that's why you will need an additional calcium pill. You are going to need about 1,200 mg of calcium a day. The only one I have found with enough calcium (600) and vitamin D (800) is from
Caltrate.

  They are a little on the expensive side, so keep an eye out when Walgreens has sales on their vitamins.  Very often, Walgreens will have a buy one get one free or buy one get one half off.  That saves A LOT, espeically when these Caltrate bottles are $12 a pop.  If you are having trouble keeping the prenatal pills down, because of morning sickness or because you just can't swallow pills comfortably, then fo sho go with the gummies by Vitafusion

 I had morning sickness from week 6 until about week 11.  Every time I took the prenatal and calcium I would start to feel icky.  I went out and bought the gummies, brought them to my next prenatal appointment and showed my nurse the bottle to look over.  Approved!  My recommended dose was to take 2 and a half of the prenatal gummies and 2 and a half of the calcium gummies everyday.

 
The gummies are nice, because they contain the DHA.

I continue to take prenatal vitamins and the added calcium pill everyday, even though I am not pregnant.  My OB recommended that I continue to take them, so I do.

Check out my other blog posts for more information on prenatal care!