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Now before you stop reading this post thinking that this doesn’t apply to you because you are not pregnant, you need to know that prenatal vitamins are for more than just pregnant women.
Any woman who is of childbearing age, whether not pregnant, trying to get pregnant, pregnant, or nursing should be taking a prenatal vitamin.
A multivitamin for women is good but if you are of childbearing age then you really should be taking a prenatal vitamin.
Choosing vitamins is hard. Really hard. With my first baby, I just took whatever the doctor prescribed me.
With my second, I just picked up the cheapest bottle I could find.
However, when I got pregnant with my third, I finally looked into vitamins. There is a lot to choosing a vitamin, mainly it’s the ingredients you want to look into.
Ideally you want a whole food vitamin or at least a food based vitamin as synthetic vitamins really aren’t absorbed and thus aren’t really a benefit.
I’m breaking these prenatal options into two sections:
1)The really great vitamins that are wonderful but cost more
2) The still good vitamins that are definitely better than the synthetic vitamins but they are cheaper than the really great vitamins.
I’m doing this because if you are like me, sometimes you just can’t afford the best of the best but you still want a best for your budget.
With each vitamin I’m going to simply list the perks. I will also list the “Other Ingredients” as often times that is how I decide if a vitamin just doesn’t fit the bill.
Natural Prenatal Vitamin Options
The Really Great Prenatal Vitamins
Garden of Life Vitamin Code RAW Prenatal – Serving size 3 capsules daily. Capsules can be opened and taken with water or juice instead of swallowing. RAW food-created nutrients. Contains probiotics and enzymes. 800mcg of Folate. Gluten and Dairy Free. Other Ingredients: Vegetable cellulose, Brewer’s yeast, lactobacillus bulgaricus, phosphorus, natto. Contains (fermented) soy.
MegaFood Baby & Me – Serving size 4 tablets daily. 100% whole food. Contains enzymes. 800mcg of Folate. Gluten and Soy Free. Other Ingredients: Plant cellulose, and vegetable lubricant.
New Chapter Organics Perfect Prenatal – Serving size 3 tablets daily. Whole food vitamin. Contains probiotics. 600mcg of Folate. Gluten Free. Other Ingredients: Organic gum acacia, silica, lac resin and carnauba wax, fermented soy.
Rainbow Light Certified Organics Prenatal – Serving size 4 capsules daily. Capsules can be opened and take with water or sprinkled on food. Food based. Contains probiotics and enzymes. 1,000mcg of Folic Acid. Gluten, Soy, and Yeast Free. Other Ingredients: Natural or mineral source organic brown rice protein, silica, capsule contains: Pullulan (vegetable polysaccharide)
The Still Good Prenatal Vitamins
Super Nutrition SimplyOne Prenatal – Serving size 1 tablet daily. Food based. Contains 1,000mcg of Folate. Gluten, Yeast, Dairy, and Soy Free. Other Ingredients: Plant cellulose coating contains citrus and vanilla flavoring.
Rainbow Light Prenatal One – Serving size 1 tablet daily. Food based. Contains probiotics. Contains 800mcg Folic Acid. Gluten and Yeast Free. Other Ingredients: Natural mineral of vegetable source microcrystalline cellulose, stearic acid (vegetable), modified cellulose, silica and magnesium stearate. Coating contains: vegetable food glaze which contains soy lecithin.
There are of course, many more brands for prenatal vitamins. These are just some of the more popular brands.
Being natural doesn’t mean you must make everything from scratch.Thankfully there are some amazing green and natural minded companies out there who help you cheat in your crunchy journey.
I agree about New Chapter being really great. I love all their products and although they are expensive, I think they are worth it.
I LOVE Garden of Life prenatals! Before I knew better, with my first pregnancy I too was just taking what my doctor gave me (which was about four months of free samples from every prenatal maker under the sun) and I could basically time to the minute when I would throw them up. Then I started Garden of Life and the 'morning sickness' completely went away, never to return again with that pregnancy or this one!
Thanks! this is great information. I am also pleasantly surprised that the prenatals that i now take are one of the ones that you listed at the top, the Rainbow Light Certified Organics. I didnt take them when I was preggo with my first, but discovered them recently (my daughter is now 22 months old). I take them now and will until I am past the childbearing stage. They are really easy to swallow (a must for me) and dont make me burp afterwards. I love that they have probiotics in them and the non constipating iron in them too. Yes, you have to take 4 a day instead of one, but that's really not been a big deal for me. I take 2 in the morning and two at night. And often take on an empty stomach and never gotten stomach upset. 🙂
Did you take any other supplements in addition to prenatals when you were pregnant? I recently took a blood test and found out I am B12 and low in vitamin D. I am taking Rainbow Light prenatals. I am not sure if this is enough especially with just taking the blood test. I want to take a fish oil supplement too. Any reccomendations?
Generally I just take the prenatals…and vitamin D (mainly in the winter and I'm pretty horrid at being consistent with it. – I use Carlson's D drops) Ideally fermented cod liver oil is the best (green pastures is the most recommend brand) but I can't afford that right now. A cheaper alternative (without worries of toxins) is krill oil. I have a bottle of krill oil but once again I'm horrid at taking it..
If you are low in B12 and Vitamin D, I would add a supplement. The Carlson's D drops are great and easy. Not familiar enough with any B12 supplements to recommend any however…
I love my Rainbow Light prenatals. I didn't know about the Organics. But there's another in-between. The Complete, as opposed to the Just Once, have more in them per day. (You have to take more of them, though, 'cause they can only cram so much into one pill.)
I have been doing some research on the Rainbow Light Certified Organics Prenatal, and in the reviews people are saying it contains American Ginseng, which can be harmful if taken while pregnant. Do you know any information about that?
Hi Melissa,
It's possible that an older formula contained Ginseng but the current formula does not contain Ginseng. If it did, it would have to be listed in the ingredient/supplemental list.
Thank you very much!
I have acne prone skin and am searching for prenatals without biotin and iodine, which has been harder than I thought. Any recommendations or anything you have come across that would help alleviate acne issues?
I’m sorry, I’ve not looked into prenatal without those ingredients.