Prenatal vitamins

Prenatal vitamins are vitamin and mineral supplements intended to be taken before and during pregnancy and during postnatal lactation. Although not intended to replace a healthy diet, prenatal vitamins provide women of child bearing age with nutrients recognized by the various health organizations including the American Dietetic Association as helpful for a healthy pregnancy outcome. It may be appropriate to start taking prenatal vitamins once the female enters childbearing age. Prenatal vitamins are similar to other multivitamins, but do contain different amounts of specific nutrients to better suit the needs of an expecting mother.

Vitamins and minerals such as folic acid, calcium and iron are in higher concentrations while nutrients such as vitamin A are reduced to reflect the current understanding of the role that these compounds play in fetal development.

The increased dosage of folic acid or folates reflects the American Dietetic Associations position that women should consume “400 μg per day of synthetic folic acid from fortified foods (cereals and other grains), supplements or both, in addition to consuming folate from foods in a varied diet.” Taking the appropriate amount of folic acid before conception can reduce or prevent the incidence of neural tube defects by as much as 70%. The recommendation to start folic acid before conception is supported by a meta-analysis of 41 studies, but is beneficial after conception as well Often prenatal vitamins also have a reduced dosage of vitamins that may be detrimental to the fetus when taken in high doses (such as vitamin A).

Many prenatal manufacturers have chosen to include the omega-3 fatty acid, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in their product, either as an ingredient in the formula, or as a complementary softgel. Although explicitly in many formulas to support neural development, the omega-3 fatty acids are used by both mother and fetus to create the phospholipid bilayer that makes up cell membranes.

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