5 On Your Side: Prenatal Vitamins

5 On Your Side Prenatal Vitamins

If you’re pregnant or trying to get pregnant, a prenatal vitamin is important. Consumer Reports consulted experts to help you choose the right prenatal for your needs.

Experts have long known that pregnant people need more nutrients to support the fetus, the placenta, and their own health. Without supplementation during pregnancy, maternal vitamin levels can drop, which can increase the risk of serious complications like preeclampsia or birth defects.

But walk down any supplement aisle, and the choices can feel endless. Some are pricey. Some have ingredients you’ve never even heard of. A gummy? A pill? How do you choose the right one? Consumer Reports took a look at 15 popular brands and found that not all supplements provide the full amounts of nutrients expectant moms and pregnant people need! And some omit key nutrients like iron, calcium, or choline!

So, what should you look for on the label?

Consumer Reports, Jessica Waller says to prioritize the micronutrients that ACOG recommends for pregnancy: That’s folic acid, calcium, iron, iodine, choline, and vitamins A, C, D, and the B vitamins. But every person’s needs are different, so be sure to talk to your doctor about the nutrients that are important for you.

From the 15 brands CR looked at, Bird & be The Prenatal Essentials and Nature Made Prenatal Multivitamin Folic Acid + DHA Softgels had most of the recommended micronutrients for pregnancy, although some were still below the recommended daily amounts.

Look for third-party certifications like NSF International, USP, or ConsumerLab.com —these groups test to ensure that what’s on the label is actually in the bottle, and some also test for contaminants like heavy metals. 

Experts also recommend taking a prenatal vitamin for the full duration of breastfeeding. And Even with a healthy diet, it’s extremely hard to get enough of the key nutrients needed during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Take iron, for example. You would have to eat more than 4 cups of lentils a day to get the recommended amount. A prenatal vitamin can help cover your bases to ensure you’re getting the nutrients you need to support a healthy pregnancy, for both you and your growing baby.
The post 5 On Your Side: Prenatal Vitamins first appeared on KSTP.com 5 Eyewitness News.