Prenatal vitamins are multivitamin and mineral supplements specially formulated for women who are pregnant. If you're pregnant and are taking prenatal vitamins, you won't be experiencing symptoms of PMS--though you might feel something similar. If you're not pregnant, prenatal vitamins won't do anything for your PMS, though they won't likely hurt you.
Prenatal Vitamins
Prenatal vitamins are actually very similar to regular womens' multivitamin and mineral supplements. The major difference is that prenatals have more of the key nutrients you need during pregnancy, particularly folic acid and iron. Folic acid is important for your fetus's formation of the neural tube, which becomes the brain and spinal cord, explain Drs. Michael Roizen and Mehmet Oz in their book "You: Having A Baby." Iron helps you produce additional blood volume.
PMS
PMS, or pre-menstrual syndrome, is the result of changing hormone levels that accompany your menstrual cycle each month. Some women respond more to rising hormone levels after ovulation, while others experience PMS in response to falling hormones that precede menstruation. If you're interested in alleviating the symptoms of PMS, unfortunately, prenatal vitamins won't do it; they have no influence whatsoever over your hormone levels, and as such, can't affect your PMS symptoms.
Pregnant Women
If you're pregnant and are taking prenatal vitamins but feel you're having PMS symptoms, you're not; your hormone levels change dramatically during pregnancy--especially early pregnancy--which can lead to bloating, headache, sore breasts and other PMS-like symptoms, explain Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel in their book "What To Expect When You're Expecting." While your prenatals will do you and your developing baby good, they won't affect your PMS-like pregnancy symptoms.
Non-Pregnant Women
If you're not pregnant and are legitimately experiencing symptoms of PMS, you can treat the symptoms with a variety of over-the-counter drugs. Tylenol, for instance, can help with backache and breast tenderness. Though prenatal vitamins won't help with your PMS, they aren't likely to hurt you either. According to dietitian Katherine Zeratsky writing for MayoClinic.com, healthy women aren't likely to suffer ill effects from taking prenatal vitamins.
References
- "You: Having A Baby"; Michael Roizen, M.D. and Mehmet Oz, M.D.; 2009
- "What to Expect When You're Expecting"; Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel; 2008
- MayoClinic.com; Prenatal vitamins: OK for women who aren't pregnant?; Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D.; August 2009
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