All women are advised to take prenatal vitamins while pregnant. Prenatal vitamins contain a mix of vitamins and minerals that take into account the special needs you and your developing baby have beyond what multivitamins for other adults contain. Sometimes, the particular needs of a woman requires that she take more or a different mix of supplements than over-the-counter prenatal vitamins provide, so she must take prescription prenatal vitamins.
Prenatal Vitamins
The term prenatal vitamins typically means a special formulation of both vitamins and minerals essential for a healthy pregnancy, usually in a multinutrient form. A key difference from a usual adult multivitamin is that prenatal multivitamin supplements contain extra high levels of the B vitamin folic acid, calcium and iron.
Prescription Prenatal Vitamins
There are a few differences between prescription and over-the-counter prenatal vitamins. Neither is regulated as a drug because the FDA considers vitamins a "medical food." The trade organization for prescription drugs is the United States Pharmacopoeia. The UPS sets voluntary standards for their manufacture, which might promote but does not ensure quality levels.
Prescription prenatal vitamins might be in the form of a multivitamin. One difference between prescription and over-the-counter versions is the level of folic acid, in particular, is higher. For example, prescription prenatal vitamins might contain up to 1,000 mcg of folic acid, while most over-the-counter prenatal vitamins contain only 400 mcg. Prescription prenatal vitamins also might contain higher doses of iron than the over-the-counter varieties; however, prescription prenatal vitamins also might be formulated to omit certain nutrients, such as iron, if a woman has a high intolerance for it. Early in pregnancy, many women find high iron levels cause intense nausea and higher doses of iron might be added only later in the pregnancy.
Insurance
Insurance offer will cover the cost of prenatal vitamins but not over-the-counter varieties. For women without health insurance coverage, the higher cost of prescription multivitamins might be a barrier to getting prescription prenatal vitamins.
Considerations
Because the FDA does not regulate either prescription or over-the-counter prenatal vitamins, there is not extensive information about the efficacy on one type versus the other. In addition, even with the USP standards that apply to prescription prenatal vitamins, not all prenatal vitamins pass muster. A study reported in the "American Journal of the Pharmacology Association" found only a third of prescription prenatal multivitamins meet the standard for folic acid dissolution, the of how much would be absorbed by a woman taking it. Some of the products showed folic acid dissolution at only 25 percent of what the USP standards suggest. The researchers cautioned that because of the importance of ensuring adequate levels of folic acid, "prompt action" was necessary to protect the public's health.
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