What prenatal vitamins are best? What to get?? - Page 2

[OSTC]

Garden of Life raw prenatals are the only prenatals I've found that don't make me sick (and I've tried a lot!) only thing w/ them is that according to my naturopath they don't have enough cal/mag so I also take a liquid cal/mag.

[1love4ever]

I am currently taking the Garden of Life prenatals and to get enough calcium and magnesium I prefer to get the rest from my diet.  What I do is drink raw goats milk.  It has more calcium and magnesium per serving than cows milk.  And is very bioavailable (easily absorbed and utilized by your body).   Raw milk also contains phosphorus which is essential for maintaining bone mass, and after being pregnant. nursing for over a year and being pregnant again and stil nursing I am concerned about my bone mass so I am glad that I am getting the extra calcium and phosphorus from the milk:)

[syoung]

When I was researching prenatal vitamins, I found this helpful: http://www.squidoo.com/best-otc-prenatal-vitamins

It basically confirms what people here are saying.

[loveandgarbage]

FYI New Chapter was just bought out my Proctor and Gamble!  http://naturalsociety.com/new-chapter-supplement-company-bought-by-monsanto-linked-proctor-gamble/

I took NC one-a-day with my two previous pregnancies and loved them. But this time around I've switched to Rainbow Light.

[Gryphonn]

Another vote here for the Rainbow Light but I do the 6 a day variety instead of the one a day.  They're a little pricier but I like the probiotic complex and TONS of vitamin B.

[Linnaea]

I took Rainbow Light when I was pregnant with my daughter and they were pretty good.  This time around, I did some online shopping and discovered a woman's multi that's not only superior to most women's multis, but it's also superior to most prenatals as well: http://www.vitacost.com/vitacost-the-woman-multi-vitamin#productDetails   It has more of the key nutrients pregnant women need as compared to other good prenatals, plus it has a fruit & veggie blend, green tea extract, cranberry juice extract, pomegranate extract, plus others.  It does contain a little soy, but my stomach doesn't notice it (which it would if there was a decent amount of it).  It's a very reasonable price and not too difficult to swallow.

Also, I just remembered I tried these as well during my last pregnancy: http://www.vitacost.com/super-nutrition-prenatal-blend-antioxidant-rich-multi-vitamin  If you want a vitamin that will give you a noticeable energy boost and extra healthy skin and hair then this one is for you!   It's a bit overkill both with the amount per serving of the vitamins & minerals and the amount of tablets you have to take per day (6!!) but there is definitely a noticeable difference in how you look and feel, which, for those of you who aren't sure if vitamins really matter much, these will leave no doubt in your mind that they are doing something.  I didn't like the 6 tablet a day thing (I tried the one a day version but it didn't give me the same energy boost), so I switched to the Rainbow Light.  

[gentlymade]

I take a liquid prenatal made by Buried Treasure. My SIL who is an amazing midwife helped me pick it out. I was having severe nausea and couldn't keep my old prenatals down. This formula has been a life saver. It has DHA in it too which is a plus. I have noticed a big difference in my energy levels as well.

[Adelya21]

bec so many have lead im so afraid so  decided to go with Shaklee they have a multivit called Vita Lea which is good for pregnant woman as well.

this is the fda testing on vitamins and prenatals with lead fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/FoodContaminantsAdulteration/Metals/Lead/ucm115941.htm

[Laney1983]

I would recommend Douglas brand because I've read two very convincing studies which placed that particular supplement manufacturer in an elite group of only about four-to-six worldwide who produce supplements at the level of quality which Douglas (BioTech and others) pride themselves on.

They're more expensive than what an you'll get at the supermarket or drug store. The question, is the extra $10-$15 worth absorbing 60-80% more of the supplements you take had you taken a discount brand? To some it is, to some it isn't. That's a personal decision.

Of the two Douglas prenatal vitamins that I'm aware of, I prefer the pack because it's complete,comprehensive and has everything I need in it. I feel like I'm getting more swallowing five capsules than I do swallowing 2.

I get them from here because they're slightly cheaper than most other places, plus they don't charge for shipping on supplements or vitamins: http://www.eganmedical.com/Vitamins-and-Supplements-s/91.htm

That same company has some really good prices on maternity support garments as well, which is how I came to find the vitamins on sale with free shipping.

[phathui5]

Since I love the NHS: 

[nettlesoup]

I'm taking Now prenatals as I had heard that they are a good brand. But I can't find any reviews or experiences with them, so now I'm concerned I've not made the best of choices. Has anyone here used Now prenatals?
 

[bobcat]

I LOVE my prenatal vitamin. I bought it randomly at Whole Foods last time I was pregnant (not this time) because it was natural and made from whole food sources, but affordable. Then, I unfortunately had a miscarriage, and held on to the bottle. One day, I decided I wanted to take a multi, so I randomly grabbed that bottle and started taking it again, and I realized within like 3 hours that my energy was up!!! I was shocked, because there are no "boosters" in it, just vitamins and natural things. So I figured, wow, this is a good multi/prenatal, because I have taken many multis in the past, even expensive ones from health food stores, and never noticed a benefit I could feel.

So....the vitamin is by Rainbow Light and it is called Prenatal One. And apparently it is very popular among pregnant women. The pill is rather large, and I have a hard time swallowing pills, so I switched to the Rainbow Light Prenatal Petite, which is the same thing, but 3 smaller pills instead of one big one. I buy it from iherb.com because it's much cheaper there. I will honestly keep taking it even after I give birth!!!! I even bought their adult multi for my hubby, because I was so impressed with the quality.

Even though there are probiotics in that vitamin, I am taking additional ones, but I would be sure to take ones without enteric coating listed as an ingredient, or that say "survives stomach acid" because that coating contains phthalates which are bad. I bought Now brand Probiotic-10 25 Billion, and Sedona Labs iFlora for Women. I had a big yeast die off (bad headaches, achey body) from the Now one, so start slowly, dumping some/most out of the capsule.

Also, I take Carlson "The Very Finest" fish oil pills in orange flavor. I buy those from iherb.com too. I don't like using the liquid. I personally prefer Carlson's "the very finest"pills vs their fish oil concentrate pills....since it's not concentrated, you end up taking more to get the same level of DHA and EPA. However, I notice that only that one seems to help my anxiety, so I figure why mess with success? Maybe it's just me. I am sure either is okay, but that's my preference. I really like the Carlson brand though and trust them. My thought is that you don't wanna mess around when something is coming from the polluted oceans and you're taking it daily.

So those are the three things I am taking. :)

[bobcat]

nettlesoup, I know iherb.com sells Now brand, so I would check that website, type the vitamin in the search bar, and you'll see a lot of reviews on the Now prenatal result page, I'm sure. (I think you have to click where the reviews are to actually read them, unlike Amazon where you just scroll down). That is why I like the iherb site so much, besides the prices....there are always a lot of reviews. I do recommend the Rainbow Light Prental One or Prenatal Petite though (see above), but haven't tried the Now. I like Now brand in general though, because I took a lot of supplements for my chronic fatigue, and half the time I go with Now. Now is affordable, but still really high quality, in my experience. I like Rainbow Light for prenatals because it's a whole food source, not sure if Now's prenatal is. But overall I do like Now as a company.

[nettlesoup]

Thanks for that Bobcat! I had a look and although there was only one review, it was a very good one.
 

[swissmiss2584]

I was taking Rainbow Light prenatals but after testing my Naturopath found that I wasn't absorbing them well because I have terrible digestion so he put me on Vital Nutrients prenatals for easier absorption.

[MadelynMc]

I'm taking 2 NOW liquid multi-gels per day (and a bunch of other stuff) and I don't think I'm going to buy a prenatal vitamin. Comparing both NOW supps side by side, they are almost identical, except for the DHA/EPA which I prefer to get from fish oil, and the B12 (and I'm taking a pretty hefty extra dose of that for other issues). Can anyone think of any other reason I am missing that I would specifically need a "prenatal" vitamin?

[southernmommie]

I take Shaklee's vitamins. I've done so well on them that I became a distributor because of it. I even added the Vit. D and the B vitamins because of my hashimoto's I'm already exceptionally low.

[MadelynMc]

Also, just FYI, my doctor (an alternative MD) says NOW are the only multis he recommends. He says that you should always take gel caps, as tablets and liquids don't have enough B vitamins due to consistency (tablets) or taste (liquid). He sells mostly NOW vitamins in his office. I'm sure they aren't the only "good" vitamin out there, but I think they are pretty great. I like them, anyway.

[nettlesoup]

Thanks, that makes me feel a lot better about them!
 

[bobcat]

Madelyn,  My prenatal has 10 mg choline, are you getting choline? I think it is important for the fetal brain. My understanding is that the prescription prenatals may or may not have it??? or might have lower doses (so it's not really on the mainstream radar), and the 10 mg my prenatal has is actually rather high for a prenatal, but that is still not even what we should be getting daily while pregnant. So I'd check on that. We do get it commonly from food, it's in eggs.....but it was one of the nutrients I looked into, on top of enough folate, DHA/EPA, etc since It IS supposed to be important to the fetal brain.

If you eat eggs with the yolk daily, you are probably okay, or just google what has choline.