When you become pregnant for the first time, you quickly have to learn about things you've never had to care about before. Case and point: prenatal vitamins. We had a newly pregnant mama share her concerns, lessons, and experiences with prenatal vitamins to reassure future mamas that everything will be OK.
First time mom over here, which means I have absolutely NO idea what I am doing, or what I’m in for...so let’s start there. After discovering that I was pregnant back in October, I immediately freaked out as my husband and I had not planned for this wonderful little adventure, and a week prior to learning this exciting news, I attended a Gala where let’s just say I had one too many drinks.
After being re-assured by my OBGYN that there was no need to worry as it was very early in the pregnancy, I still felt like I needed to do everything I could to make sure this little bean had the best chance of developing healthily. I was on a mission to find the best prenatal vitamin out there!
While scouring the shelves of CVS I was surprised to find an overwhelming amount of options. I found some that were clearly marketed to woman who appreciate good packaging (ME) and others that looked almost like they were a prescription, which let’s be honest that’s no fun to take every day. Of course, there were options that fell somewhere in the middle of fun and serious but quite honestly, I had no idea what I was even looking for. Does it need to have a certain amount of DHA? Should the calories or sugar content be low per serving?
Realizing I was in over my head, I went home in hopes my husband could shed some light on the situation. As an ER physician, he is not specifically trained in the specialty of OB-GYN, however he has a base level knowledge on all-things medicine, so I knew his suggestions wouldn’t lead me astray. Thankfully he took the lead and went out and got me what he would suggest to any patient who was in search of similar information. I am now on a strict regimen of taking two of these One-A-Day vitamins per day (when I remember). You can find it at any pharmacy or big box store.
When I compared the prenatal that I had in my medicine cabinet from a few months back (the one I had purchased as a precautionary “lets get healthy” daily supplement) with what I had just purchased, I was shocked. Back then, I easily fell for the marketing and purchased the vitamin with the nice box and label. Not to mention they were gummies and coated in sugar. The mega, albeit gross, vitamins from One-A-Day have twice as much DHA which apparently is super important for baby’s brain development, etc. It goes to show how important it is to read labels and get medical advice before making any prenatal vitamin purchase.
As a first-time mom everything seems overwhelming because its all-me! To my fellow FTMs out there, we are in uncharted territory ladies and we need to have each other’s back! And to the veteran mama’s...HELP!
Are You Pregnant or Planning a Pregnancy?
Make sure to get a pre-pregnancy checkup to address diabetes, hypertension, or other problems.
Take a prenatal multivitamin-and-mineral supplement with 400 to 600 micrograms of folic acid to prevent neural tube birth defects.
Go to womenshealth.gov/pregnancy for info on getting pregnant, prenatal care, and more.