What prenatal supplements should I take?
Before we launch into which prenatal supplements you should be taking, let’s do some soul-searching.
Quiz time!
Which of these best describes your approach to choosing which prenatal supplements you should take?
A. Take whichever ones your family/friends/colleagues recommend
B. Like a magpie, go for the flashiest marketing. The more expensive the better, right?!
C. Prenatal supplements? I don’t think I need to take anything.
D. Multivitamin or single nutrients? I don’t know. Whatever is easiest!
E. Have a food and nutrition expert handpick the supplements and doses I need based on my diet, medical history and budget.
Ok, so I’m a little biased, but I think E. is the best way to go about choosing your prenatal supplements.
Hey, not only does it take the fuss and confusion out of it, but you can rest assured you are in the most nourished state for the most important job in the world (uh, motherhood, that is). And bubs is nourished too!
Disclaimer: Just a quick note to bear in mind before you read ahead. Medical advice is imparted throughout this blog, but it is important to remember that this piece of writing is not intended as a substitute for advice from a qualified medical doctor, your dietitian, or another qualified nutrition professional.
Even with the most well-known prenatal supplements (folate and iodine anyone?), we see a big difference between what people know, and what people actually do. Here’s a little something to show you my why for writing this blog…
Here, I’ll give you the what, the why and the how for prenatal supplements at a basic level. This is for ALL WOMEN thinking of having a baby. Then to level up, get a bespoke supplement plan for your unique nutrition needs (you’re special!)
“Do I even need to take a prenatal supplement?”
‘Yes’ is the short answer to this question, but it also depends. Certain supplements are absolutely essential in the lead-up to pregnancy, such as iodine and folic acid. The requirements for these nutrients increase sharply the moment we conceive, and yet many women won’t even know they’re pregnant until several weeks into their pregnancy.
Beyond these essential nutrients, some women may need additional supplementation in the lead-up to pregnancy (such as iron). This is not universal and requires the expertise of a fertility dietitian to determine. Things like medical history, dietary patterns, lifestyle, underlying deficiencies, dietary preferences and so on will all have a direct influence on which supplements you will need (hence, your needs won’t be the same as your aunt or mum or sister’s friend or one of your high school besties). Sorry for the ambiguity, but you deserve it.
Knowing whether you need any additional supplements when trying for a baby is one of the many ways a Fertility Dietitian can help you prepare for a healthy and happy pregnancy. And give your future baby the best start in life by making optimal nutritional choices before you even become pregnant.
So, now that that’s cleared up, let’s check out which supplements are routinely recommended prenatally:
Folic Acid
Folic acid just refers to the synthetic form of folate (don’t worry, synthetic doesn’t mean it’s any better or worse nutritionally than the natural form folate). This supplement is essential for having a healthy conception and baby growth and development. It plays a key role in making DNA. Without enough folate, cells are unable to function properly, which can increase the risk of your baby developing a neural tube defect (NTD) such as spina bifida. This is where your baby’s spinal cord fails to close over or develop properly whilst your baby is growing in the womb.
When to take it:
You should begin taking a daily folic acid supplement at least four weeks prior to when you start trying for a baby, or ideally, as soon as you come off birth control, and this should be continued for at least twelve weeks into pregnancy.
How much to take:
In New Zealand, the standard folic acid supplement dose recommendation is 800 ug, taken once daily. However, if you, your family or your partner have any relevant history of NTD’s or if you have a higher BMI or polycystic ovarian syndrome (talk to your Fertility Dietitian if you’re unsure whether this is you), you may need up to 5000 ug once daily.
Iodine
More often than not, iodine is often emphasised as a pregnancy supplement (rather than a prenatal supplement). However, this comes back to the common issue that many women don’t know they’re pregnant until they’re several weeks pregnant. It is essential that enough iodine is stored in your body from day one of pregnancy. Iodine is critical for a healthy thyroid gland in your baby, as well as normal brain development. If your growing baby becomes iodine deficient, he or she may suffer from reduced cognitive development and also thyroid complications and disorders after birth.
When to take it:
Iodine should be taken daily from the moment you’re off birth control. Supplementation needs to continue right through your entire pregnancy and even after bubs is born.
How much to take:
In New Zealand, the standard iodine supplement recommendation is 150 ug, taken once daily. Bear in mind that if you have any form of thyroid issue, disorder or disease, you should consult with your Fertility Dietitian to discuss and adjust your iodine dosage as necessary.
Ok…but my friend gave me some Elevit, can’t I just take that instead?”
Or any prenatal multivitamin for that matter. Multivitamins contain a combination of nutrients such as folic acid, iodine, iron, a range of B-vitamins, vitamin D, calcium, zinc, magnesium and the list goes ON.
There is nothing wrong with multivitamins. However, consider that a) some of the nutrients provided conflict with others (if you have calcium with iron it significantly impacts iron absorption) b) it may provide you with certain nutrients you do not require (this can be dangerous, believe it or not), and c) it can gosh darn expensive, particularly if half the things in the multivitamin are unnecessary or excessively dosed for your needs.
Instead of taking a multivitamin off the bat, I strongly recommend consulting with a Fertility Dietitian who can appropriately assess your dietary intake and bloodwork to advise on your specific needs. That way, your supplementing strategy will be specifically tailored to YOU, you know you won’t be needlessly wasting money, and you can be confident that you’re not overdoing certain nutrients and putting yourself or your growing baby at risk.
That’s all folks…
And there you have it; an evidence-based, scientific and no-fuss beginner’s approach to supplementing in the lead-up to becoming pregnant.
But to be honest with you…prenatal nutrition is difficult to Google on your own, so chances are you don’t want to just have a beginner’s understanding of how to truly optimise your diet and lifestyle for positive conception outcomes.
That’s where my expertise in fertility and pregnancy can help you. Working with me in the lead-up to becoming pregnant (or if you’re already pregnant!), I take the confusion out of which prenatal supplements you should take so you can get pregnant and grow your baby with everything you both need!
Ready to work with me? Go ahead and book in a consultation directly via my website. I can’t wait to meet you!
Hannah x
P.S. Are we friends on socials? If not, come say hi!
I can be found at @ohgoodness_nutrition on both Instagram and Facebook.
Have you listened to my podcast “I’m Thinking of Having a Baby”, yet? I did an episode on prenatal supplements that you should listen to! You can find the other episodes of the podcast here. For real-life fertility stories and expert advice on what to consider if you’re thinking of having a baby!
If you have a listen to our podcast, don’t forget to leave a review – we’d love to hear your feedback and suggestions for upcoming episodes!
