skipping prenatal vitamins? suggestions needed!

[PlayaMama]

so, i've had really atrocious m/s and i haven't been able to take my prenatals. or if i take them i puke them up not too much later. i initially lost about 10 lbs due to m/s and have managed to gain back 4 (i'm 13w4d).

i've gone from eating whole grains and lots of veggies and fruits to eating whatever processed food i can stomach (chili cheese fritos and bean dip?!?) mostly stuff that would have grossed me out before pregnancy.

i've been a vegetarian for 12 years and have started eating cooked fish, some chicken and turkey (we're talking fish sticks and chicken nuggets). anything that looks remotely appetizing.

basically i feel like my diet has gone from great to really bad and in addition i'm not taking my vitamins. my hair has started shedding and i just feel icky.

any advice for good prenatals? i just left my bottle from planned parenthood in a hotel and i'm thinking that maybe some whole food ones would be easier on my tummy?

[weeirishlass]

I get really sick at that vitamin taste that almost all prenatals have. But my mw gave me some samples of some called PreNate Elite w/ dha. They are a gelcap and have a yummy vanilla smell, so they don't make me sick at all. They also include a stool softener, which, let's be honest, sometimes is really helpful! They are rx only, so if you're UP, it might be hard to get 'em. But I'd reccomend them.
As for your diet, as a daughter of a chef and nutriotinist, I believe 100% that your body will make damn sure it is getting the nutrients it needs, even if they do come in pre-packaged, deep fried packages.

[PlayaMama]

thanks! i'll talk with my midwife about getting a prescription, though they were pretty expensive from drugstore.com, maybe she can hook be up with some samples until my insurance kicks in.

[angieluvsramon]

when I was pg with both my kids prenatals always made me sick. I must have tried 4 different kinds finally I gave up and diddnt take them any more. I went through about 7months without any at all and both of my boy's were perfectly healthy!!!

[nolonger]

I haven't been able to stomach prenatals either, but I think my diet is probably better than what you describe just because I work for Food Not Bombs, Community Supported Agriculture, etc. and have access to very good fresh produce but not to supermarket food and fast foods.

I would suggest that you try taking 800 mg of Folic Acid by itself if the new prenatals don't do the trick, and if not, don't stress on it too much.

My understanding is that you are already past the point in your pregnancy where a folic acid deficiency can cause problems and that the evolutionary purpose of morning sickness is to keep us from eating potential toxins atr the time that our babies are most vulnerable. Our bodies don't understand about refrigeration yet. We are most likely to tolerate fruit, fresh veggies (try salads if you don't like cooked greens) and other foods that are least likely to be contaminated and dangerous.

The morning sickness should be letting up for you soon, if that's any consolation at all.

[smokeylo]

I haven't taken my prenatals in months. I have Solaray prenatals, they're pretty awesome, I just can't swallow them (gag) now.

[justmama]

my advice(having been through 2 hg pregnancies and in the midst of my third) is to eat what you can right now. when the morning sickness stabilizes, worry about it then. I cannot swallow those big horse pills right now because they make me throw up. I can barely swallow those teeny little zofran! But occasionally I can chew 2 of my kids' gummy vites and think they are probably better than nothing. I'm only down 6 lbs right now and my hair is falling out in clumps too. it will pass. try sneaking in one healthy food every single day and working from there if it will make you feel better. sometimes things like smoothies can be completely passable as healthy and delicious and tolerable to morning sickness at the same time. My doctor recommended that I chew 2 flinstones complete if I can't swallow my prenatals. same amt of everything apparently. but personally I just can't take the texture, they make me gag. So I do what I can to eat healthy but some days I just cannot make it happen. yesterday was no breakfast, cup of coffee, crackers for lunch, and mac and cheese for dinner with popcorn later on watching a movie. SOOOOOOOOOOOO healthy right? it was what I could cook and eat without yucking in the toilet. later on I'll worry about health. right now I"m worried about staying hydrated and not barfing constantly.

[Gracecody]

I hear you completely. I have been trying hard to take my Rainbow Light prenatals. It has helped somewhat to take them with a snack, right before bed. But when I wake up to pee I feel horrible.

One other option is to take a childrens chewable multi, either a reg chewable or the gummy ones they have now. Then at least you're getting some level of all of the vitamins and minerals.

[perditafoster]

Flinstones' chewables when you can stand it....when you can't, don't worry about it. This is my 3rd with only sporadic prenatals, and my girls were both fine! And so was I...

[day-by-day]

I was doing some folic acid research today, since I can't stomach my prenatals either. I found that one bowl of Cheerios or Crispix (and probably many other breakfast cereals) have nearly 200 mcg of folic acid. That's half the recommended 400 mcg for childbearing women right there.

Now, some "experts" recommend higher doses of folic acid for women once a pregnancy is confirmed. But I could not find any that recommended more than about 600-800 mcg. And the upper limit of what is helpful to consume without increasing the risk of other problems is 1 mg. So I really do not understand why a prenatal vitamin has as much as 1 mg of folic acid in it, since I know that I will also be getting folic acid through my diet.

I guess I'm torn. I'm sure there is some benefit to taking some vitamin supplements daily. But I'm also thinking that there is a lot of money being made off prenatal vitamins by the companies that make them, and I'm finding it hard to believe they are really as essential as we are led to believe.

[Nature]

I just take the generic Flinstones vitamins when I remember. No pre natals here. Never have for any of my 3 girls. My OB said to just take two of the chewables and its fine. She also said as long as you're eating healthy its not going to be an issue.

[PlayaMama]

oh boy. awesome, i feel much better knowing i'm not alone in the grossness of prenatals :

i will try to take some of my son's vegan vitamins tonight. i found a site that tells you what you should look for in a prenatal ranges of different things and i'll see how it compares.

thanks eveyone!