Many women wonder whether it's ok to take prenatal vitamins if you're not pregnant. You may have heard that they can thicken your hair or improve your skin, or you may simply be interested in getting pregnant some day and are looking for a good head start. Prenatal vitamins are ok under some circumstances, but best avoided under others.
Prenatal Vitamins
There aren't many differences between a prenatal vitamin and a normal daily multivitamin, but the differences that do exist are significant. Prenatals contain 50 percent more iron than a woman's daily vitamin, explain Drs. Michael Roizen and Mehmet Oz in their book "You: Having A Baby." Further, they contain high levels--800 to 1,000mcg--of folic acid, which an unborn baby uses to build the structures that become the brain and spinal cord.
Use Before Pregnancy
It's very reasonable to consider starting on a prenatal before you conceive, explains Dr. Miriam Stoppard in her book "Conception, Pregnancy and Birth." By eating well--and making sure you're getting your vitamins and minerals--before you even conceive, you're helping to ensure that you and your baby will stay healthy during your pregnancy. For this reason, if you're on birth control but plan to try to conceive shortly, it's fine to take prenatals.
Not Trying To Conceive
If you're not trying to conceive, and don't imagine yourself trying to conceive any time soon, you're at best wasting your money by using prenatals. The extra iron and folic acid won't do you any good, and prenatals cost far more than daily multivitamins. Katherine Zeratsky, a nurse, explains on MayoClinic.com that prenatals aren't likely to hurt a healthy woman, but neither will they do any particular good.
Misconceptions
Some women take prenatals even if they're on birth control--and not trying to conceive--because they think that the vitamins will cause healthier skin and hair. Unfortunately, this is completely erroneous. Two of the common side effects of pregnancy include thicker, more lustrous hair and a "glowing" complexion--these effects result from more blood flow to the scalp and face, explains Dr. Stoppard. You can't get pregnancy hair or skin from pregnancy vitamins, however.
Expert Insight
Regardless of the fact that prenatals aren't likely to benefit you if you're not pregnant or trying to conceive, they won't interact with any of the ingredients in birth control. In other words, it's no more dangerous to take a prenatal if you're not pregnant and using birth control than if you're not pregnant and not using birth control--but unless you're planning to conceive soon, it's just as futile, and just as expensive.
References
- "You: Having A Baby"; Michael Roizen, M.D. and Mehmet Oz, M.D.; 2009
- "Conception, Pregnancy and Birth"; Miriam Stoppard, M.D.; 2008
- MayoClinic.com: Prenatal vitamins
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