Prenatal vitamins are essential sources of vitamins and minerals for a pregnant woman, and often make up for what she may be missing in her diet. Unfortunately, for some women, prenatal vitamins cause nausea or trigger morning sickness, making them difficult to tolerate. Changing the way you take your prenatal or changing your vitamin altogether may keep nausea at bay.
Nausea Triggers
Prenatal vitamins are packed with even more vitamins and minerals than the average women's multivitamin. They are often larger and contain more of certain key nutrients. Iron, in particular, can be a trigger for nausea. According to What to Expect, iron can wreak havoc on digestion, and may trigger both nausea and constipation. In addition, the way you take your vitamin can trigger episodes of nausea, especially in the earliest stages of pregnancy, when morning sickness is most common. Taking a prenatal vitamin on an empty stomach, or when you are already feeling nauseous, may make things worse.
How You Take Prenatals
The first step in tackling the problem of vitamin-induced nausea is to change the way you take the pills. MayoClinic.com recommends women prone to morning sickness take their prenatal vitamins in the evening instead of the morning. Your stomach is less likely to be empty after an entire day of eating as opposed to when you first wake up. If it has been some time since your last meal, try taking your prenatal vitamin with a small snack, such as a few crackers or a piece of toast. Additionally, MayoClinic.com reports that sucking on a piece of hard candy or chewing gum after taking your prenatal may reduce symptoms of nausea.
Changing Your Vitamin
Different prenatal vitamins contain different amounts of some key ingredients. After you have tried to reduce nausea with snacks or candy, you may still find that your prenatal is making you sick. Talk to your doctor about other prenatal vitamin options. While you still need to take a prenatal vitamin every day, you have some flexibility in the type of vitamin you take. For instance, some women tolerate chewable vitamins more easily, as swallowing a large vitamin may trigger nausea. Or, you may find the opposite to be true for you. You can also discuss the amount of iron in the vitamin with your doctor. Sometimes, taking a prenatal with less iron can do the trick. What to Expect also recommends increasing the amount of vitamin B-6 you take, which, for some women, helps nausea.
Don't Stop Taking Prenatals
Your prenatal is a vital source of nutrients for both you and your baby. While nausea may be unpleasant, the risks of malnutrition are even more so. Pregnant women need much more of certain key nutrients than the average woman, and even a multivitamin formulated for women is not sufficient. If you cannot get any relief, talk to your doctor about other ways to get these necessary nutrients. While you should do everything you can to improve your nausea, do so without putting you and your baby's nutrition and development at risk.
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