Prenatal vitamins share much in common with regular daily multivitamins, except that they have higher quantities of certain key nutrients that you and your baby need to help ensure a healthy pregnancy. If you're pregnant, your doctor may have recommended that you use prenatal vitamins for a number of reasons.
Prenatal Vitamin Components
The major differences between prenatal vitamins and regular daily multivitamins are in the quantities of certain key components. In particular, prenatals have 50 percent more iron than women's daily vitamins, note Drs. Michael Roizen and Mehmet Oz in their book "You: Having A Baby." Prenatals also contain significantly more folic acid than daily multivitamins--most have around 800 to 1,000mcg. Some prenatals may have slightly higher quantities of various other vitamins and minerals as well.
Utility of Prenatals
The majority of vitamins and minerals in prenatals simply help to make certain that you're getting the nutrients you need to support both you and your baby. During pregnancy, your vitamin and mineral requirements go up significantly, but your energy requirements go up by only about 300 calories per day, note Drs. Roizen and Oz. This, coupled with the fact that many women experience nausea or food aversion during pregnancy, can make it hard to get enough vitamins and minerals through food alone.
Specific Ingredients
In addition to ensuring good overall health, key ingredients in prenatals serve very specific purposes. In her book "Conception, Pregnancy and Birth," Dr. Miriam Stoppard explains that the folic acid in a prenatal helps to prevent spina bifida and other neural tube defects. The neural tube is the structure that eventually develops into your baby's brain and spinal cord. Iron in prenatals helps you produce additional red blood cells, which you need to deliver oxygen to both you and your baby.
Misconceptions
You may have heard that prenatals are good for you if you're not pregnant--that they help you grow longer, thicker hair, for instance. Unfortunately, while many pregnant women both take prenatals and have thick hair, it's not the vitamins that cause the hair growth. Pregnancy hormones naturally thicken hair and improve complexion, and you can't mimic the effects of the hormones by taking prenatal vitamins if you're not pregnant.
Expert Insight
If you're looking for a prenatal vitamin for use during pregnancy, be aware that the iron in prenatals prevents you from absorbing calcium. As such, note Drs. Roizen and Oz, you should look for a prenatal that doesn't contain calcium, and take your calcium supplement separately at another time of day. You need calcium to provide the material your baby uses to grow bones, and to provide for your own bones and cells as well.
References
- "You: Having A Baby"; Michael Roizen, M.D. and Mehmet Oz, M.D.; 2009
- "Conception, Pregnancy and Birth"; Miriam Stoppard, M.D.; 2008
Member Comments