Why take prenatal vitamins?

​For many women, taking prenatal vitamins is a chore.  I often hear “Do I really have to take them?”  They’re too big to swallow, they make me sick, they make me constipated, I forget, and I don’t like to take pills are just a few of the reasons that some women give for not taking them.  It turns out, though, that prenatal vitamins actually play multiple important roles in having a health pregnancy, and unless you’re in a very small minority, it’s unlikely that you’re getting all of these nutrients from your diet alone.
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1.  Folic Acid – you want a prenatal with a minimum of 600 micrograms of folic acid although, depending on your medical history, you may need up to 2000 micrograms per day.  Folic acid helps prevent neural tube defects.  In case you were wondering, the neural tube is the part of the embryo that becomes the brain and spinal cord, so of all of the growing parts of your baby, this is definitely one of the most important.
2. DHA – this is an omega-3 fatty acid that helps with development of your baby’s brain and eyes.  You’ll want to shoot for 200 milligrams per day.
3. Iron – 27 milligrams of iron per day helps reduce your risk of anemia during pregnancy.  A low blood count decreases the amount of oxygen delivered to your baby, and since he/she can’t breathe on their own just yet, oxygen has to come from mom.  Additionally, anemia near the time of delivery lowers the reserve for mom and increases the chances that she may have to have a transfusion if she has more bleeding than expected during delivery.
4. Calcium and Vitamin D – 1,000 milligrams per day is important for a developing baby’s bone growth and muscular function, and it also helps prevent bone loss in mom as her baby grows within her.  Adding 600 IU of Vitamin D daily helps your body with the absorption of calcium.

So far, we’ve largely focused on benefits of prenatal vitamins for baby, but there are also several benefits for mom as well.  For instance, the folic acid in the prenatal vitamins can reduce risk of ovulatory infertility by up to 40%.  Also, for women who take prenatal vitamins for 3 months prior to conceiving, there is a reduced risk of hyperemesis gravidarum (severe nausea and vomiting in pregnancy).  Prenatal vitamins begun prior to conception are the most effective in reducing risk of birth defects anyway, so about 3 months before trying to conceive could be a perfect time to start taking them.

These are the reasons that prenatal vitamins are so useful in having a healthy pregnancy.  Whether you take regular ones, gummy ones, expensive ones or cheap ones, prenatal vitamins are important.  While they won’t fill in the shortcomings of an Oreo and Cheeto-based diet, they can increase your chance of conceiving, reduce risk of birth defects, and reduce the odds of severe nausea in pregnancy.  That’s why prenatal vitamins can be a win for mom and baby 😊
Dr. Nick