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. You can get a significant boost from a high-quality prenatal vitamin, but it’s likely you’ll need to add to it! These are the three key nutrients you may need to add to your prenatal vitamin.
*This article should not be construed as medical advice, and cannot replace the guidance of your qualified health professional.*
Key Prenatal Nutrients to Add to Your Vitamin
If you read my post, 8 Nutrients to Look for in a Prenatal Vitamin, you’re already off to a solid start! These nutrients are likely already in your prenatal vitamin. However, they may be low dosage for your needs, and you may need to supplement! Here’s what to look for, how to know when to add them, and why they’re important.
Sometimes a Prenatal Vitamin Isn’t Enough
Vitamin D Needs Vary from Person to Person
Vitamin D is a critical nutrient to support your immune system, and studies show that maintaining Vitamin D levels in pregnancy can reduce the risk of preterm birth. The optimal blood level for Vitamin D is at least 40ng/mL. You may have seen 20ng/mL as the cutoff for “normal,” but this is meant to prevent rickets, a severe bone disease, not reach optimal health! To reach 40ng/mL, most people need to supplement with at least 4000IU per day, and prenatal vitamins typically fall short. Get your blood level tested before supplementing, and follow up to see your levels rise. You don’t want to take too much Vitamin D3, either. An oil-based form of Vitamin D3 seems to work best, because Vitamin D3 is fat soluble. My favorite is MaryRuth Organics Megadose Vitamin D3 Liquid Drops.
Choline Supports Baby’s Brain Development
Choline supports baby’s brain development. Most prenatal vitamins contain very low levels of choline, much less than mamas need. Unless you’re eating eggs every day, you likely need to add a choline supplement to hit 350mg daily. You can easily add more choline to your Prenatal Vitamin subscription with Needed Choline.
Iron is Important but Causes GI Discomfort in Some
Iron is needed for a healthy supply of red blood cells, which are needed to carry oxygen to the placenta! But, iron supplements can cause gastrointestinal discomfort. To tailor your dose, opt for a prenatal vitamin without iron, then add it in separately as ferrous bisglycinate, which is easier on the stomach. Needed Prenatal Iron makes it easy to increase your iron levels. Their product page even has a helpful dosage calculator based on your blood ferritin levels! For even better absorption, take your iron apart from meals and with vitamin C. Make sure to test your iron levels (including ferritin) during pregnancy. Too much or too little iron can cause fatigue and other unpleasant symptoms.
If you want to try any product from Needed, code: MERRITT gets you up to 40% off pre-bundled plans, and 25%+ off your first subscription order!
Other Considerations for Pregnancy Supplements
Other Prenatal Nutrients to Consider Pairing with Your Prenatal Vitamin
This is not an exhaustive list of all the nutrients important to pregnancy. In addition to what’s listed here, you may benefit from Omega-3 fish oil, additional calcium and magnesium, collagen, and a probiotic. Check out my other posts for a deeper dive!
Trimester-Specific Nutrients to Add to Your Prenatal Vitamin Now
8 Nutrients to Look for in a Prenatal Vitamin
Why Needed Prenatal Collagen Protein is Superior, My Review
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 Supplement 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.
Prenatal Vitamins: Capsules, Gummies, and Powder
A philosophy I repeat a lot on my blog is that the best product in the world is useless if you won’t actually use it. When it comes to pregnancy nausea, some people tolerate gummies or powders better than pills. Folate is so critical for preventing certain birth defects, especially early in pregnancy, so it’s important to find a vitamin that you can tolerate. If you’re really struggling, seek out a nutritional counselor. Needed subscriptions include a free, one-time consultation with a nutritionist to get you started.
My Top Prenatal Vitamin Choices
Here are two of my favorite brands that provide the key nutrients needed in prenatal vitamins. For more, check out my article My Honest Prenatal Vitamins Review: The Best Brands.
Needed Prenatal Vitamins Contain Key Nutrients at Needed Dosages
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. 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! Read more about Omega-3s in my post, Trimester-Specific Nutrients to Add to Your Prenatal Vitamin Now.
Use this link and code: MERRITT for up to 40% off pre-bundled plans or 25%+ off your first subscription order!
Perelel Prenatal Vitamins Are a Well-Rounded Option
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! The Conception Support Pack aims to help prepare the body for pregnancy, providing 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!
Try Perelel Multivitamin Packs with my link and code: MERRITT15 for 15% off!
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!
