Prenatal vitamins

September 3, 2008 3:05 PM

Pl. recommend a good brand for prenatal vitamins. My doctor did not name any specific brand.
posted by tom123 to health & fitness (15 comments total)

I think they all have pretty much identical ingredients. You can compare the list of active ingredients on the bottles, and then if you find differences you can research those items, but there were no differences between the brands available at our pharmacy (in Toronto, a few years back)
posted by winston at 4:45 PM on September 3, 2008

My wife was given a prescription for Duet DHA pre-natal vitamins, she liked them.
http://www.duetdha.com/
posted by skwm at 5:08 PM on September 3, 2008

I'm using the Walgreens brand and my doctor said they were just fine. Just be sure to follow the dosing instructions. For a while, I was just taking one per day when I was supposed to be taking two per day.
posted by moosedogtoo at 5:09 PM on September 3, 2008

I like this one by Rainbow Light because it doesn't have added sugar or artificial sweeteners/colorings, etc. It has more than or close to the ingredients recommended in this WebMD article on prenatals. I also like the fact that just one pill a day does it. Rainbow Light does have something called a Complete Prenatal System that has more in it, but you have to take six pills a day. For some pregnant women, vitamins can worsen nausea, so one-a-day can make a difference.
posted by cocoagirl at 5:11 PM on September 3, 2008

I'm taking a prescription prenatal vitamin right now, PrenatalPlus, and it's FABULOUS. I really like it, and have hardly any side effects from them (only nauseous from them once, and that was when I took them on a very empty stomach). I especially like them because they have ginger and extra B-vitamins added to help alleviate nauseousness.
posted by I_love_the_rain at 5:19 PM on September 3, 2008

Mrs. Writer swears (swore?) on the PrimaCare she was on. By prescription, only. Our OB/GYN swore by it, and family in the medical field said it was one of the top ones.
posted by fijiwriter at 6:00 PM on September 3, 2008

Yeah, I'm just taking the store-brand prenatal, which is just one pill a day, plus a fish oil capsule for the DHA (I also take a calcium+D supplement as I was doing prior to becoming pregnant). No need to spend lots of money on prenatals. Just talk to your doctor if you find that you are having issues with whatever you choose. As people above mentioned, there are some you can take that help reduce nausea a bit or have DHA already in them.
posted by stefnet at 6:18 PM on September 3, 2008

I thought the idea of prescription prenatal vitamins was complete bunk till I was on PrimaCare One. They were so much more pleasant to take than the drugstore brand that I actually took them. I loved them. The slight vanilla taste made a big difference

Be sure that whatever you take includes DHA. If price is an issue and your stomach can handle it, I'd do what stefnet does and go with a store brand prenatal plus DHA. Enfamil actually makes a DHA capsule for pregnant women which is smaller and easier to take than the big fish oil capsules. It's made from algae as opposed to fish so there's no mercury if you are concerned with that.
posted by selfmedicating at 7:01 PM on September 3, 2008

Costco brand prenatals. SlowFe for anemia. Tums for the heartburn and extra calcium. Expecta Lipil DHA (it's gross-fishflavor-free).
posted by oceanmorning at 8:53 PM on September 3, 2008

In my experience Rainbow Light products are pretty much the bomb. They have the best buffered C in the world, a great prenatal... so based on brand quality, I'd go with them.
posted by ewkpates at 4:18 AM on September 4, 2008

The Rainbow Light pre-natals made my stomach do flips, but then most vitamins do that to me. The Rainbow Lights are good vitamins though and the single daily dose was good. If you can find a single dose pill, then take it with a bit of food before bed. It's much less likely to cause stomach pain when you've got some food in your system.
posted by 26.2 at 4:50 AM on September 4, 2008

I take the GNC prenatals, which have all of the recommended vitamins, but are much less expensive at $10/mo than many of the alternatuves (Duet DHA, for example, is 3x more expensive). It doesn't have DHA, which you cn purchase separately elsewhere (just be sure that it is purified of mercury) - but you may want to discuss the idea of taking fish oil with your ob anyway. According to my ob, research shows that taking fish oil increases the size of babies' brains, but no correlation has been just yet with actual brilliance.
posted by dreamphone at 5:51 AM on September 4, 2008

Not to be gross, but my advice is to get one with a stool softener. Having gone with and without, so to speak, "with" is definitely better. I did not realize until I tried the "with" that it made a big difference and now I won't switch back. I'm using these.

Also, watch the level of folic acid recommended. I originally went with a Costco brand that had I think 600 or 800 mg (or whatever), but my doctor said as an over-35 woman I should be getting more, thus the Prenate DHA link above.

Good luck!
posted by onlyconnect at 7:33 AM on September 4, 2008

You just have to try them. Stick with the first one that doesn't really make you that nauseous.
posted by Citrus at 8:08 AM on September 4, 2008

I took Flintstones Chewables (yes, the kind for children) - regular prenatal vitamins of all kinds made me barf :-)
posted by pinky at 3:17 PM on September 4, 2008