Did you know that 95% of moms are nutrient deficient? Before, during, and after pregnancy are very demanding times on the body. After all, you’re growing and sustaining another human! Unfortunately, the combination of modern diet and depleted soil makes it nearly impossible to get all your nutrients from diet alone, and most prenatal vitamins just don’t cut it. But which prenatal vitamin should you choose? Read on for my honest prenatal vitamins review, and for a discount on some of the best prenatal vitamins!
What to Look for in a Prenatal Vitamin
Ultimately, the best prenatal vitamin for you depends on your health situation and lifestyle. This article should not be construed as medical advice, and cannot replace the guidance of your qualified health professional. However, you can get a significant nutritional boost from a high-quality prenatal vitamin, and not all prenatal vitamins are equal. Before we get to my prenatal vitamins review, here’s what to look for in a prenatal vitamin.
Key Nutrients in the Best Prenatal Vitamins
The best prenatal vitamins contain several key nutrients: Methylfolate, B6 and B12, Selenium, Zinc, Vitamin A, Choline, and Iron. (But you may want to take Iron separately from your Prenatal!) These are not the only nutrients needed in pregnancy, but they’re an important place to start. Check out my article 8 Nutrients to Look for in a Prenatal Vitamin for more!
Recommended Reading for Pregnancy Supplements
I highly recommend reading Rebecca Fett’s books It Starts with the Egg, It Starts with the Bump, and Brain Health from Birth, for more details on the science of egg quality and a healthy pregnancy. These books helped inform my prenatal vitamins review, and contain a wealth of information that you probably aren’t getting from your OB.
Third Party Testing for Purity
Supplements are not FDA-regulated. This means that ingredients labels are often inaccurate, and the products often contain higher levels of heavy metals and other contaminants. Each brand I recommend is Clean Label Project certified, meaning they’ve been third party tested for label accuracy and product purity from contaminants such as heavy metals and pesticides. Clean Label Project is an excellent, free resource for checking certain product labels! Check them out.
Best Prenatal Vitamin Overall: Needed
One of my favorite brands is Needed! They offer products for all perinatal stages, including TTC, pregnancy, postpartum, and beyond. They’re one of my favorite supplement brands because of their high-quality ingredients, the purity of their ingredients, and their commitment to sustainability. Needed prenatal vitamins contain optimal forms of vitamins for better absorption, and their dosages are based on research of real pregnant women’s nutritional needs.
There are 3 different prenatal vitamins you can choose from. Prenatal Multi Essentials covers your bases and is a great way to ease yourself into a more robust supplement. If you tolerate the Essentials, move up to the Prenatal Multi Capsules containing higher nutrient dosages. If 8 pills are hard to take, try the Prenatal Multi Powder which offers the same nutrients as the Multi Capsules. This powder can be mixed into smoothies!
Needed Bundles Simplify Comprehensive Prenatal Nutrition
With many add-on products available, you can easily tailor your supplement regimen to your needs. Need extra vitamin D or Iron? Buy them from Needed so you can take the exact dose that’s right for you. Adding in an Omega-3 supplement? Choose Needed’s high-quality, high-potency option. There’s even a Vegan Omega-3 option! Right now, I don’t tolerate high methylated B12, so I’m not currently taking Needed’s Prenatal Multivitamin. I am, however, taking their Collagen Protein, Omega-3 fish oil, and Iron. Read more about Why Needed Prenatal Collagen Protein is Superior, My Review.
Needed offers bundles for different stages and areas of support, depending on your needs. You can save time and money by simplifying with a product plan that’s tailored to your stage, such as the Complete Plan with a Prenatal Multi, Collagen, Omega-3, and Pre/Probiotics, the Fertility Support Plan for Two (both male and female support!), or the Gut Health Plan. If you’re looking for the most robust dosages of the most highly absorbed nutrients, this is the prenatal for you. Try the Starter Plan to bundle your Prenatal with an Omega-3, which is important for egg quality and preventing preterm birth, among other benefits!
Use this link and code: MERRITT for up to 40% off pre-bundled plans or 25%+ off your first subscription order!
Best for Convenience: Perelel Prenatal Vitamins
Perelel is an OB/GYN-founded supplement company that makes it easy to get comprehensive prenatal nutrition, with “Packs” tailored to the nutritional needs of each stage! Even with a comprehensive prenatal vitamin, it’s likely you could benefit from some add-on nutrients. Perelel offers a Conception Support Pack to help prepare for pregnancy, which contains extra folate, COQ10, and Omega-3 fish oil. The 1st Trimester pack contains extra B6 to help keep nausea at bay, the 2nd Trimester pack contains extra calcium and magnesium, and the 3rd Trimester pack adds calcium, magnesium and a probiotic. What’s unique about these packs is that they are literally little packets containing multiple pills — no pill case needed!
My Review of Perelel Prenatal Vitamins
The nutrient dosages and forms are in line with what I’d researched, so I tried the Conception Support Pack. Unfortunately, I found that the extra folate (a methylated nutrient) gave me insomnia. I am already taking a more potent Omega-3 fish oil and COQ10 supplement, so these weren’t bonuses for me. Taking just the two multivitamin pills from this pack still gave me rapid heartbeat symptoms, but that’s more to do with my own intolerance of methylated nutrients, at the moment. If you’ve never had that issue, I would not be concerned with side effects and it’s worth trying these! The extra folate capsule is likely more than you need, but the Omega-3 and COQ10 are definite bonuses if you aren’t already supplementing with them.
Perelel Multivitamin Packs: Targeted Support for Each Stage
These stage-specific packs are a great option because in one product, they bundle a comprehensive prenatal and some of the extra nutrients needed during pregnancy. This is a lot easier than curating your own bundle of multiple brands and supplements! However, for some, these extra nutrients may not replace the need for additional supplements. For example, when TTC, it’s likely that higher COQ10 is beneficial. For those with thyroid concerns, more selenium is likely needed. Unless you eat eggs daily, more choline will be needed during pregnancy than what is offered in the packs. That said, Perelel Multivitamin Packs are a high-quality, comprehensive prenatal vitamin option that makes it easy to go above and beyond a standard prenatal vitamin. If you’re unlikely to add other standalone supplements, this is the option for you! Shop Perelel Health Multivitamin Packs using my link and code: MERRITT15 for 15% off.
Best Gummy Prenatal Vitamin: Smarty Pants
Who doesn’t love a gummy vitamin? Some people really struggle with pill fatigue. If that’s you, Smarty Pants makes tasty, high-quality prenatal multivitamins. While it’s lower in B vitamins, Choline, and Folate than other options from Needed and Perelel, it is still a great option. This is the vitamin I’m taking daily currently, and the lower B6 and B12 allows me to customize my form and dose without side effects. I also take iron separately for better absorption and less GI discomfort. However, the Smarty Pants Organic Prenatal Multi & Omegas Vitamin still covers your other bases, and some people might find it easier to take than pills. Just be aware that you may need to supplement with additional nutrients.
Not My Favorite: Ritual Prenatal Vitamins
Ritual is a popular option that I wanted to mention in my prenatal vitamins review, but it’s a no for me. While they are Clean Label Certified and have high-quality, traceable ingredients, the Ritual Essential for Women Prenatal Multivitamin is missing a lot of key nutrients. The Ritual Multivitamin has high levels of Folate and B12, but it lacks B6 and other B vitamins, Zinc, Selenium, and Vitamin A. Most women would need to add several supplements to make this vitamin complete. Biotin is quite high which could cause stomach aches. On top of that, these gave me insomnia, so it’s a no for me. With more robust choices on the market with equally clean and traceable ingredients (Needed, and Perelel, for instance), I don’t generally recommend using Ritual’s Multivitamin for TTC or pregnancy.
Prenatal Vitamins While Dealing with Nausea
A philosophy I repeat a lot is that the best product in the world is useless if you won’t actually use it. Any prenatal vitamins review should consider the ease of sticking to a new supplement regimen. If you’re struggling with nausea, make sure your vitamin is one you can keep down. Folate is so critical for preventing certain birth defects, especially early in pregnancy, so it’s important to find a vitamin that you tolerate and will remember to take. Options in this blog post include pills, extended release capsules, gummies, and powder. If you’re really struggling, a nutritional counselor can help you evaluate your diet and address deficiencies. Needed subscriptions include a free, one-time consultation with a nutritionist to get you started.
Other Important Prenatal Nutrients
Ultimately, the “right” prenatal vitamin for you depends on your health situation and lifestyle. To ensure truly optimal nutrition, it’s likely that you’ll need to supplement with more than just a single prenatal vitamin before, during, and after your pregnancy. Check out my article Trimester-Specific Nutrients to Add to Your Prenatal Vitamin Now for more about Prenatal Collagen, Omega-3, Choline, and more.
Whether you’re TTC, pregnant, postpartum, or just looking for supportive supplements, I hope you found this prenatal vitamins review helpful. Don’t forget to use my links and codes for special discounts!
To try Needed, code: MERRITT gets you up to 40% off pre-bundled plans, and 25%+ off your first subscription order!
Or try Perelel Multivitamin Packs with my link and code: MERRITT15 for 15% off!
Dive in to radically better nutrition!
Disclosure: Please note that some of the links on this page are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I earn a commission if you make a purchase. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. I would never recommend anything I wouldn’t personally use, and the income goes to keeping this site updated and free for everyone!
