Some time ago, my husband was looking into taking supplements and did a ton of research regarding the best brands and types of supplements to take. While it is true that it is best to get your nutrients from your diet, sometimes you may need a little extra help. This is particularly true for pregnant women who need to ensure that they are taking certain types of nutrients to support a healthy pregnancy. This article by the Mayo Clinic is informative and to the point. I have further summarized its key points below:

• Following a healthy diet is important, but you may still miss some important nutrients during pregnancy. A prenatal vitamin will ensure that you are getting everything you need.
• Some of the key nutrients that you may need to supplement include:
  • Folic acid to prevent neural tube defects.
  • Iron to support the baby’s growth and also to prevent anemia in the mother.
  • DHA to support the baby’s brain development.

It is ideal to start taking prenatal vitamins before conception so I started taking mine 1-2 months before we started trying. I had no trouble taking vitamins but it was a little difficult during the first trimester as sometimes the vitamins made the nausea even worse. So my tip is to take them before bedtime!

There are a lot of vitamins out there and I never really understood the importance of buying a high quality vitamin until Jerry forced me to switch brands. I initially bought a positively reviewed once-a-day prenatal vitamin, but Jerry told me that the quality may not be that high. While a “so so” brand gets the job done, it is way better to get a reliable, high quality brand that you are confident with. I did a little bit of research myself and found this helpful article. Some major points are:

• Supplements are part of a wild field that is mostly unregulated. You want to make sure you are purchasing vitamins from a reputable brand to ensure they are properly tested for safety and purity.
• Supplements that are cheaply made will usually contain forms of the vitamin that are not easily utilized or absorbed by the body. For example, folate is important for preventing neural tube defects, but most vitamins will not use natural folate and use folic acid instead, a form that is poorly converted by most people.
• High quality supplements will contain less toxins, including heavy metals. This is particularly true for supplements such as DHA, where it should be emphasized that the source is wild caught and that what you are buying is non-GMO verified.

By investing in extra testing and procedures to deliver the purest and most effective form of a vitamin, the price for higher quality supplements may be justifiably higher than for low quality supplements. Here are the two brands that I use:

Daily prenatal – Thorne Basic Prenatal: The folate is in the natural form instead of folic acid and B12 is in the natural absorbable form of methylcobalamin instead of cyanocobalamin. Thorne is a very reputable supplement brand and we have used it in the past for non-pregnancy related supplements also.

DHA – Nordic Naturals Prenatal DHA: The deep sea fish oil is wild caught and also tested by a third party certified lab for environmental toxins, ensuring its purity and freshness. This brand is also recommended by the American Pregnancy Association.

As always, this information is drawn from my own experience and research, please always consult your doctor or healthcare professional to make decisions that are best for you.