High Quality Prenatals

I have been buying my prenatals at Trader Joe's. You only need to take one a day but they are big. I tried twice to take different samples that my OB gave me and could tell a difference in how I felt. I'm also taking TJ's fish oil and flax oil. The price is very reasonable!

When I was pregnant I got an assortment of samples from my o.b. and then I just wound up taking whichever ones didn't make me throw up! Basically you want them to have DHA in them if possible, fatty acids.

do a little research. I just found out that the #1 brand sold at Whole Foods that I was taking has high levels of lead along with many of the "good brands" ...I can only imagine what the store brands at the regular store have in them! I have a list of the 10 best prenatals, but i think youd have to purchase online. If i can dig them up I will repost!

From the FDA vitamin lead study:
>
> Top 10 pre- and postnatal vitamins with the LEAST lead
> 1. After Baby Boost 2
> 2. Nature's Sunshine Nature's Prenatal
> 3. Nature's Plus Prenatal Liquid
> 4. Natrol PreNatal Care
> 5. Pregnancy Plus
> 6. Pure Encapsulations PreNatal Nutrients
> 7. Maxi Health One Prenatal
> 8. Nature's Bounty Prenatal
> 9. Stuart Prenatal
> 10. Natural Wealth Prenatal
>
> Top 10 pre- and postnatal vitamins with the MOST lead
> 1. After Baby Boost 1
> 2. A to Z Naturals Wow! PreNatal
> 3. Vitamin Source Prenatal Complete
> 4. Prenatal Superior
> 5. Rainbow Light Complete Prenatal System
> 6. Buried Treasure Prenatal Plus DHA Complete
> 7. DaVinci Laboratories Ultimate Prenatal
> 8. Life Time Professional Pre-Natal Formula
> 9. Daily Foods Baby & Me
> 10. Carol Bond Women's Choice Prenatal

I do not have a source for this so you may want to do your own research

I recommend Rainbow Light Prenatal One, everyone prenatal client I have referred does not have any issues with nausea, they are food based and typically better than prescribed ones. The other brand I recommend is New Chapter Organics, which has probiotics in them. The American Academy of Pediatrics is recommending that expecting moms take 5000iu of Vitamin d3 since we are so deficient in them. Babies are born deficient often needing to supplement with 400iu if exclusively breastfeed (even if mom is taking her d3 still). Whole Foods has Carlon's d3 drops. Also consider taking some fish oils. The baby's brain develops the most during the 3rd trimester and continues to develop at a rapid rate the first two years of life. Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega + D3 is great (it only has 1000iu of d3, so you still need to add the drops).

I suggest buying vitamins at either www.vitacost.com or at www.iherb.com they have free shipping on anything over $50, you get %5 off anything over $60 and you get $5 off first time orders if you use coupon code JAF960. Here is the short version:

Rainbow Light Prenatal One (if you get the others, you have to take 6 per day, 2 at B/L/D but it has the probiotics in them, or you can take probitoics separate)
Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega + Vitamin D3
1000mg of Vitamin C starting at 27wks, (to help premature rupture of membranes)
Carlson's Vitamin D3 drops
Probiotics (PB8 is my recommendation with the blue cap)

Hope this helps!

J. W. MPH
Maternal and Child Health Educator
Chicago Examiner Family Health Expert
http://www.examiner.com/x-7158-Chicago-Family-Health-Exam...
Master Trainer for Healthy Moms Fitness
www.healthymomsfitness.com

I highly recommend the prenatal vitamin I took during my last pregnancy and while nursing, from Whole Foods. It is called Rainbow Light Prenatal One. Just one pill per day, and is very gentle on the stomach. It has the complete vitamins, iron & folic acid and ginger to help with morning sickness.
http://www.rainbowlight.com/Categories.aspx?Category=d832...

Prima care vitimans- they are prescription but are the best!! They have the DHA and all the oils etc you want for baby brain, eyes etc development. As your OB for a perscriprion

Hi N.-

I like the PreNatel Blend ones at Whole Foods. They have some higher amounts of Vit D and Calcium, so that's why I picked them. (I'm very dairy intolerant.)

The only part I don't like about them is that a serving is 6 tables a day. And they're not small tablets!

Good Luck!
A.

I got my prenatals from GNC and never had a problem with feeling sick or needing to take them with food.

I usually recommend the "Whole Foods" brand of prenatal vitamins. They seem to have just the right level of iron and B-Vitamins (including folic acid). The prescription brands usually have way too much iron and way too little of the B-Vitamins. You can see more about this topic on this page (scroll down).

http://home.mindspring.com/~djsnjones/id1.html

You can also read more about the risks of too much iron and too little B-Vitamins in this book (you can find it in your local library)...

http://www.amazon.com/CHILDREN-Americas-nutritional-expec...

Best wishes,
J.

I agree with Rainbow Light one a day. It is great. My only complaint is that it's soooo big. I had trouble swallowing even half of it at a time.

Primacare (prescription) or what your doctor recommends.

I used Rainbow Light Prenatal Vitamins from Whole Foods. I never had any problems with them.

Hi N., I haven't read the other responses, but if you truly want the best prenatals, ask your doc for a prescription. You can't get the top levels of Folic Acid without one.

Good luck in your search! : )

The prenatals I liked the best, took all through my last pregnancy and will take again are Nature's Way Completia Prenatal vitamins. They have everything you need, folid acid, iron, even DHA.
They are fairly large, but aren't too bad to take. They don't taste bad or give a burp-y aftertaste. They never made me feel bad, even when I took them on an empty stomach.
Here are the specs: http://naturesway.com/?pid=14905
And you can buy them here in different sizes: http://www.luckyvitamin.com/item/itemKey/54627 (The best prices anywhere - I had been buying them at Meijer for twice the price, until Meijer stopped carrying them, and I'm glad or I would never had looked online!)

I had a very hard time finding a high quality prenatal vitamin that was easy to swallow, didn't make me more nauseous, and/or didn't require taking 6 pills a day(!). The free samples my OB gave me were fish oil based, which is great, but gave me fish burps (no joke) after taking them. I took a good friend's advice with my first pregnancy and ordered these vitamins all the way from Australia. http://www.pharmacyonline.com.au/blackmores-pregnancy-bre...
I'm sure it sounds ridiculous to go so far for them, but even with the cost of the vitamins plus shipping, I was still spending less per pill than the brands I found at Whole Foods. See for yourself - they are Omega 3 fish oil based (strictly tested for mercury levels, and no fishy burps - ha ha), are easy to swallow gel caps, and I have two very healthy, happy children. This web site delivers within 2 weeks and I have been a satisfied customer for 4 years now.

Hi N.,
I'm sure you'll be overwhelmed with responses and people trying to sell you things but I do want to reply to let you know that Shaklee vitamins are the very best. They do over 80,000 tests on their products annually to check for purity, potency and to ensure there are no contaminants, banned substances, etc. Not sure if you know why that is important but the FDA does not regulate vitamins and so many companies claim to be safe, natural, effective or whatever but have no one to hold them accountable and therefore the claims mean essentially nothing. Shaklee is reviewed by 3rd parties so you know their products are safe. I'd love to tell you more - email me if you're interested.

Thanks,
K.

I would speak to your ob about this and see what she/he recommends for what you are doing now (trying to get pregnant, are pregnant, etc).

My dr. just loves prenatal elite...they were kind of spendy ($35 per bottle after insurance), but I thought worth it during my last pregnancy. My daughter had a 2-vessel umbilical cord, so I wanted to be sure I did everything possible to ensure a healthy pregnancy. She was born perfect!

For my first pregnancy I was taking natalcare...they were discontinued for some reason that I haven't been able to fully determine.

I am 6 months PG and am taking Shaklee supplements. They don't make an actual *prenatal* but all the nutrients in my regimen were approved by my OB as the amounts I should be taking. I like that they are whole-food based, making it easier for your body to utilize and absorb.