We’re frequently asked in our comment section about: prenatal vitamins recommended by obgyn. Hopefully by the end of this article you’ll have no doubts about this subject.
Featured Partner
The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists (ACOG) notes taking a prenatal vitamin and eating nutritious foods should provide a person with all the vitamins and minerals they need during pregnancy. Additionally, it recommends vitamins A, B6, B12, C and D, which provide benefits that range from promoting healthy skin and eyesight to the formation of red blood cells. While some folic acid can be derived from foods like fortified cereals and leafy green vegetables, ACOG recommends supplementing with a prenatal vitamin to make sure you’re getting the recommended amoun.
Frequently Asked Questions
Expand All
En “eat for two,” but now we know that it’s dangerous to eat twice your usual amount of food during pregnancy. Instead of “eating for two,” think of it as eating twice as healthy. If you are pregnant with one fetus, you need an extra 340 calories per day starting in the second trimester (and a bit more in the third trimester).
That’s roughly the calorie count of a glass of skim milk and half a sandwich.
The Best Prenatal Vitamins Overall
Though Nature Made does offer the prenatal without added DHA, we recommend the option with, as this is a particular omega-3 fatty acid that’s helpful in pregnancy. Some users do report a fishy taste or odor with these pills, but after one of our reviewers took them every day for three months, she didn’t experience any “fish burps.”.
The pills are large, but also gel-coated for easier swallowing. One note: Nature Made Prenatal is lower in calcium and vitamin D than some of the others on this list, so you may want to supplement if you don’t already get enough from your diet. However, we ran into conflicting information regarding how reliable the label is:
On the one hand, this prenatal is USP-certified, which is reassurance from one of the most reliable third-party testers that this formula contains the ingredients listed on the label, in the declared potency and amounts.
But at the same time, LabDoor, a trustworthy company who also ran independent testing on the formula, found that six key nutrients measured at least 10% over the label value. The worst offenders were vitamin B6 which was 73% over its 2.6mg label claim, and EPA, which was 285% over its 28mg label claim. Dr. Cardaci pointed out that this is not a big deal since B vitamins are water-soluble so any excess will easily be excreted, and the 108 mg of EPA is still within recommended amounts.
This vitamin has not been tested or evaluated by Consumer Labs, though the brand has not had any recalls since 2016. So, even though our experts and medical reviewer deemed this vitamin to still have safe and effective amounts of the essential nutrients for child-bearing women, the simple fact of the label being inaccurate slightly tarnishes the vitamin’s trustworthiness.
The Best Budget Prenatal Vitamins
Pros: All the essential and specialized nutrients you need for child-bearing years, all-in-one multivitamin, inexpensive
Cons: Not vegetarian, some users report a fishy odor
Nature Made Prenatal Multi +DHA vitamins meet the standards recommended by the ACOG for prenatal vitamins and minerals.
You can score all your vitamins in just one softgel, which is about the size of a penny — so while it’s not “small,” most people shouldn’t have trouble getting one down every day. However, we ran into conflicting information regarding how reliable the label is:
On the one hand, this prenatal is USP-certified, which is reassurance from one of the most reliable third-party testers that this formula contains the ingredients listed on the label, in the declared potency and amounts. Dr. Cardaci pointed out that this is not a big deal since B vitamins are water-soluble so any excess will easily be excreted, and the 108 mg of EPA is still within recommended amounts.
Additionally, Lab Door does state the product did meet purity standards. So, even though our experts and medical reviewer deemed this vitamin to still have safe and effective amounts of the essential nutrients for child-bearing women, the simple fact of the label being inaccurate slightly tarnishes the vitamin’s trustworthiness.