Prenatal vitamins can help protect your developing baby from birth defects and keep you healthy throughout your pregnancy. Choosing which prenatal vitamin to buy can be difficult, though, especially when faced with an array of different brands all claiming to be the best. In reality, as long as a prenatal vitamin contains all of the necessary nutrients in appropriate amounts and is tolerable to take each day, you and your baby should be fine.
Nutrients
Prenatal vitamins should contain a minimum of 400 mg of folic acid, an important nutrient for preventing neural tube defects in your developing baby. Calcium is another requirement, although a prenatal won't contain 100 percent of the calcium you'll need. Since pregnancy can lead to depleted iron stores, your prenatal vitamin should contain 30 to 40 mg of iron. Other nutrients to look for include niacin, riboflavin, thiamin, iodine, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc and vitamins A, B6, B12, K, E, C and D.
Size and Texture
If you can't swallow your prenatal vitamin easily, it will be difficult to continue using it throughout your pregnancy. Some prenatal vitamins are available in smaller sizes that require two pills each day to make a single dose. Prenatal vitamins with calcium tend to be larger. Some women prefer to choose a smaller prenatal without calcium and take a separate calcium supplement or get this nutrient through diet alone. The texture may be another consideration for some moms-to-be. Smoother coated pills may go down easier than rough-textured vitamins when you are in the throes of morning sickness.
Effectiveness
One thing that can affect the effectiveness of your prenatal vitamin is how well it dissolves, explains What to Expect. The United States Pharmacopeia, or USP, seal on the bottle or packaging of some brands indicates that these vitamins meet a minimum standard of dissolution as well as being guaranteed to contain the nutrients claimed on the packaging. If you want to check dissolution yourself, you can place a vitamin in a cup of vinegar and stir every few minutes. If the vitamin hasn't dissolved by about 30 minutes, it may not dissolve well in your stomach and the nutrients you need may simply pass through your digestive tract unabsorbed.
Warning
Beware of prenatal vitamins that have more than 100 percent of the recommended daily allowance of iron, chromium, selenium and vitamin A, suggests the March of Dimes. These nutrients can be toxic to both mother and baby if taken in excess. You should also avoid any prenatal vitamins that contain herbs, amino acids or enzymes. These products may also be hazardous to your developing baby.
Considerations
While doctors often prescribe prenatal vitamins, you don't have to purchase the specific brand in your prescription. Searching for a generic or store brand USP approved vitamin that contains everything you need can save you money, since these typically cost much less than name brand prenatal vitamins. Always use your prenatal vitamins before the expiration date on the package. Old vitamins can lose potency, causing you and your baby to miss out on some of the nutrients you both need.
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