Pre Natal Vitamins: Who should be taking one, why take one, and how to choose one.

WHO SHOULD BE TAKING ONE?
I typically suggest that all women of child bearing age that have the possibility of becoming pregnant, women who are trying to conceive, women who are pregnant, and women who are post partum* take a prenatal vitamin.  Ideally, we get allllll the nutrients & vitamins we need from a healthy diet, but due to depleted soil where our food is grown, birth control pills depleting us of important nutrients, along with other factors, a lot of us simply aren't getting everything we need. t's still important to eat healthy diet when trying to conceive, while pregnant, and post partum! However, a pre natal vitamins helps to fill in the gaps.

I'M NOT TRYING TO CONCEIVE- WHY TAKE ONE?
Did you know that in Canada, about 60% of pregnancies are unplanned?! Taking a prenatal vitamin ensures that if you do become pregnant, even without planning, you're still setting the stage for a healthy pregnancy. For example, Folate reduces the risk of miscarriage and neural tube defects, but only when taken in the first 4 weeks of pregnancy. However, most women don't find out they are pregnant until they are 4-7 weeks along.

Women who work with me while trying to conceive or when they are pregnant are at an advantage because we have the ability to improve nutrient status before becoming pregnant or before breastfeeding, so we aren't moving 2 steps forward and one step back as baby requests more and more from mum.

DOES RESEARCH PROVE IT?
Many studies show that prenatal vitamins improve the healthy of baby AND mum!

• Increased likelihood of pregnany when trying to conceive
• Reduced risk of miscarriage
• Reduced risk of prenatal anxiety, prenatal depression, post partum depression
• Reduced risk of pregnancy complications including gestational hypertension, preeclampsia, preterm birth, low birth weight babies, birth defects, and stillbirth
• Reduced rates of chronic illness in baby as they age (such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease)

NOT ALL PRENATAL VITAMINS ARE EQUAL...
First thing to note: something is better than nothing. When it comes to cost or routine recommendation from a health provider, taking a Flinstone vitamin or Materna is going to be better than taking nothing at all. However, your run of the mill prenatal is more focused on preventing deficiency rather than providing optimal nutrients. I always recommend taking a prenatal that has optimal dose and best quality. This means the vitamin should have enough in it to be beneficial for you and baby, and it should be in it's most bioavailable form. 

For example, let's talk about folate. Adequate levels of folate improve egg quality, prevent miscarriage,  preclampsia and placental abruption, and reduce the risk of prenatal post partum depression. It also prevents neural tube defects in baby. Take a look at your prenatal. It probably contains folic acid- a form of folate that needs to be converted in the body. In order to process folic acid, you need a functioning MTHFR gene. Unfortunately, defects in this gene are common, and impair your ability to convert folic acid to folate. I typically recommend a prenatal with 5-MTHF or 5-methyltetrahydrofolate, so no conversion is needed and we know you're consuming the proper amount of folate in order to reduce your risk as mentioned above.

To get a personalized pre natal recommendation, in addition to other pregnancy concerns, I always recommend booking an appointment. However, I've created a list of Pre Natals available on Fullscript that contain (mostly all) active forms of ingredients. You can click on this link:
ca.fullscript.com/welcome/adrienne-deluca?preview=true and find the 'prenatal support' section under my 'favourites' heading. 

MY PRENATAL MAKES ME NAUSEOUS...
Unfortunately, prenatals can sometimes be trial and error. There isn't one brand or type of prenatal that all women are sensitive to. Try different brands and different types (powder, gummies, capsules, etc) until you find one that doesn't bother you. Aside from switching your prenatal, you can also try:

• Take your prenatal supplements with food and avoid taking it on an empty stomach.
• Take them in the late afternoon instead of early in the day, when digestion is primed and ready to go
• Take your prenatal supplements with something that's slightly acidic, like a glass of water with lemon juice, or a half cup of orange or grapefruit juice.

I FEEL UNCERTAIN...
Never take something without the guidance of a health practitioner. If you're looking to get a better understanding of what to take when trying to conceive, while pregnant, or post partum, book a free 15 minute discovery call with me and we'll decide if we're a good fit to work together. Book here.

*Post partum refers to 'the time after child birth'. So technically a 90 year old woman is still post partum! Every woman is different, and I always recommend getting in touch with me to determine when you should stop taking your pre natal. Some factors that determine this include your medical status/history, recent blood work, breastfeeding or not, etc.