Prenatal vitamins can help prevent birth defects, provide necessary nutrients for fetal development and protect the health of the mom-to-be during pregnancy. Unfortunately, they are sometimes accompanied by side effects or reactions that make taking your daily supplement uncomfortable or unpleasant. Sometimes, these reactions are the result of specific components in the supplement, while others may stem from an allergy or overdose.
Typical Reactions
Prenatal vitamins may cause or aggravate morning sickness in some women, triggering a bout of nausea that makes it difficult to keep down the pill you just took. Other women notice an increase in constipation when they start taking a prenatal supplement. Another possible reaction to prenatal supplements is difficulty swallowing the pill, especially in the case of large pills that contain calcium, a big mineral that tends to make supplements larger when present in high amounts.
Reasons
The iron in prenatal vitamins may be the culprit, since it often triggers constipation and nausea. A prenatal without iron or with low iron levels can be prescribed to rule out this possibility, as long as your iron levels are not too low when tested by your doctor. Calcium, the size of the pill and simply the combination of high levels of nutrients at one time are other potential causes for reactions to prenatal supplements.
Solutions
Taking prenatal vitamins with food or in the evening may help prevent nausea associated with these supplements. Chewing gum or eating a small piece of hard candy just after taking your daily pill is another option when morning sickness takes hold. For women experiencing constipation, increasing dietary fiber and water intake may help. If necessary, a doctor can prescribe or recommend a stool softener. Small pills or those with a slick coating may be easier to swallow than other types of prenatal vitamins.
Special Circumstances
In some cases, a reaction to prenatal vitamins may not be due to the usual, harmless causes. Some women may experience an allergic reaction to one or more components in these supplements. Signs of an allergy include hives, facial swelling and breathing difficulty. If you experience these symptoms shortly after taking your prenatal vitamin, report this to a doctor. Another special circumstance is an overdose of prenatal vitamins. While taking an extra pill on one or two days during your pregnancy will not cause any harm to you or the baby, taking too much of some vitamins in a prenatal can cause an overdose. Vitamin A, D, E and K may cause serious health problems to mother and baby if too much is taken, so avoid taking more than the recommended dosage of prenatal supplements each day.
Considerations
Don't stop taking prenatal vitamins on your own, but talk to a doctor if you can't handle the side effects or if you end up throwing up every time you take your pill. Some women fare better with chewable vitamins or separate pills for specific nutrients such as folic acid, iron and calcium. It may be possible to get all of the nutrients you need by working with a dietitian to plan out your meals during pregnancy.
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