If you’re here then you’ve probably Google’d about: what does prenatal vitamins do when your not pregnant.
What Are Prenatal Vitamins?
The vitamin aisle at your local pharmacy contains a huge assortment of vitamins for different genders and ages. Prenatal vitamins are specifically geared toward women thinking about becoming pregnant or who are pregnant. The concept behind prenatal vitamins is that some of a women’s nutritional and vitamin needs increase with pregnancy.
Prenatal vitamins are meant to bridge the nutritional gap. They aren’t a replacement for a healthy diet. Lots of different prenatal vitamin types are available on the market.
While there’s not a specific formulation for all prenatal vitamins, you’ll likely find that prenatal vitamins contain at least these key nutrients: Calcium. Prenatal vitamins typically have between 200 and 300 mg of calcium. This contributes to a woman’s calcium requirements but doesn’t account for all of her daily calcium needs.
Calcium is important for all women because it keeps their bones strong. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that pregnant women (and those trying to get pregnant) take in 600 micrograms (mcg) of folic acid every day from all sources. Since it may be difficult to get this much folic acid from foods alone, a supplement is recommended.
Foods that have folic acid (also known as folate) include beans, leafy green vegetables, asparagus, and broccoli. According to the Mayo Clinic, pregnant women need 27 mg of iron a day. This is 8 mg more than women who aren’t pregnant.
When Should I Take Prenatal Vitamins?
Always talk with your doctor before starting to take prenatal vitamins. If you’re trying to conceive or are pregnant, your doctor will likely recommend that you take them. Prenatal vitamins are particularly important for these women.
Doctors often recommend that women who are breastfeeding also continue taking prenatal vitamins after delivery. That’s because half of the pregnancies in the United States aren’t planned. But they aren’t really intended for women (or men) who aren’t expecting or lactating.
Again, it’s better if you get these nutrients through your diet instead of a pill. Misconceptions about prenatal vitamins Many women claim that prenatal vitamins affect hair and nail growth. But according to the Mayo Clinic, these claims haven’t been proven.
They could also have adverse side effects.
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Are a few key differences, since some nutrient needs change when growing a human. We also added iodine, since the recommended amount of iodine increases during pregnancy.
Our third addition to our prenatal multivitamin: biotin, because scientific evidence suggests that higher biotin intake may be needed to meet the requirement for pregnancy. For example, our.
Essential Prenatal
And our prenatal multivitamin has more folate, which supports neural tube development during pregnancy.
As a reminder, folic acid is a synthetic form of folate found in many supplements—but folic acid isn’t always an ideal form of folate for the body to efficiently utilize. *
When to Consider Making the Switch
We recommend switching to our Essential Prenatal when pregnant, thinking about getting pregnant, or actively trying for a baby. *
Recently Gave Birth?
Then consider making a different multivitamin switch—from a prenatal multivitamin to a postnatal multivitamin. The truth is nutrient demands change again after birth, especially if breastfeeding. Our Essential for Women contains 8 mg per serving of iron, while our Essential Prenatal contains 18 mg per serving.
And while it’s true that some non-pregnant people may need more iron than others (due to vegan and other restrictive diets, as well as certain conditions), we recommend consulting with a healthcare provider to determine how to go about supplementation for specific needs before making the switch to a prenatal multivitamin. And for all of the above, don’t forget to lead with a mostly-healthy, balanced diet.