How to Choose the Best Prenatal Vitamin

During pregnancy, you have different nutrient needs to meet the demands to nourish you and your baby’s growing bodies. Here at Fooblie we are all for getting your nutrients from food first. In most cases it’s possible. But, we still recommend a daily prenatal vitamin. In this article we take on how you can choose the best one for you.

Why a prenatal vitamin? 

There are some nutrients that are hard to get enough of from just food alone and that is why nearly every healthcare professional recommends a prenatal vitamin. (This is especially true if  you are suffering from nausea during pregnancy. If this is you, check out our ‘morning sickness’ tips).

What’s the best prenatal vitamin? Before you go shopping for supplements, know that prenatal vitamins are not created equal. Here is what to consider when choosing the best prenatal vitamin for you, read on! 

What form are the nutrients?

Some nutrients have a synthetic form, found in supplements, that is different from their natural form found in foods. Synthetic versions are typically poorly absorbed by your body.

Supplement companies tend to focus on the cost of the ingredients. They choose the least expensive form of the vitamin not the version your body can better absorb.

For example, look for a prenatal vitamin that has “activated” B vitamins to make sure you can metabolize what’s in the bottle. Activated just means your body doesn’t have to break it down. If a vitamin is ‘inactivated’ your body my excrete it before you have time to absorb the good stuff. 

Another is folate. It is an especially important nutrient to take in its natural form. Folate is well-known for reducing neural tube defects during pregnancy. Try to avoid its synthetic version, folic acid, instead look for methylfolate. 

If you can swing it, these two checks are worth the extra cost.

Is it a comprehensive formula?

Commercially available prenatal vitamins often lack iodine, choline, vitamin D, vitamin B12, and magnesium. According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination (NHANES Survey from 2007-2010) over 90% of pregnant women fell short of recommended amounts of these exact same vitamins. As some of these are hard to get enough of from food alone, make sure your prenatal vitamin has these in there.

What ingredients should I look out for and why? 

These are some vitamins worth calling out. Check those labels! 

Choline

First is choline. Although the importance of choline during pregnancy is increasingly recognized, it is still missing from many prenatal vitamin formulas. Both the American Medical Association (AMA) and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) want pregnant women and young children have adequate choline intake. Research on this nutrient is exploding, and it looks like 450–1000 mg choline/day is an intake level to support fetal development (especially brain health), and improve pregnancy outcomes. 

Vitamin D

Next up, vitamin D. Vitamin D is another nutrient with lots of exciting research. Vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy puts you at a higher risk for preeclampsia and gestational diabetes. For your baby, inadequate intakes elevates the risk for low birth weight and Vitamin D deficiency. Researchers found that 4,000 IU of Vitamin D3 a day was a safe and effective dose in achieving sufficiency in all women and their babies regardless of race. Be sure to choose a prenatal vitamin with 600 IUs of Vitamin D3 (or more) or take a Vitamin D3 supplement separately. 

EPA and DHA

Continuing on, let’s take on EPA and DHA. EPA and DHA are types of Omega 3 fats that help brain development. Try to eat more lower-mercury fish, or take a DHA supplement to meet the necessary requirements. 

Iron

Lastly, iron. Iron needs are higher during pregnancy due to an increase in red blood cell production. Iron plays an important role in your baby’s development. Watch out, iron supplements can be poorly absorbed and have side effects like constipation, heartburn, and nausea. This is why we recommend eating as many iron-rich foods as you can to avoid needing a supplement. The iron from foods are well-absorbed and do not cause undesirable side effects. Chicken liver, sardines, ground beef, and chicken are foods rich in iron. If you do need a supplement, the well-absorbed form of iron is called iron bisglycinate. 

What’s your budget?

Ya know, some decisions are easy to make if you think about your wallet! Be mindful that some vitamins cost a lot because of the business. Are they spending a lot in marketing? Are they investing in clean ingredients? Some forms of the nutrients cost more than others. Look critically at the price tag. 

Does taste or convenience matter?

I hear you. Sometimes you just want a gummy. The form the vitamin takes matters! You can find pills, gummies, and powders to mix into things. Make a choice that fits your lifestyle.