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Should I start taking prenatal vitamins before getting pregnant?
If you’re planning to become pregnant, a healthcare professional will recommend that you begin taking a prenatal vitamin. You should start taking one with folic acid 3 months before trying to conceive. Prenatal vitamins contain extra amounts of folic acid, iron, and calcium needed during pregnancy.
How long should a woman take prenatal vitamins before getting pregnant?
Because so much of a baby’s development happens during the early weeks of pregnancy, it’s important to start taking prenatal multivitamins before trying to get pregnant—three months is a good rule of thumb.
Are Prenatals really necessary?
Prenatal vitamins are a staple of modern pregnancy. But a report out Monday in the journal Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin suggests they don’t make much difference in preventing complications such as premature birth, low birth weight, and stillbirth.
What are the best pre pregnancy vitamins?
Healthline Parenthood’s picks of the best prenatal vitamins
- Ritual Essential Prenatal.
- Care/of Baby Love Prenatal Multivitamin.
- Persona Prenatal Supplements.
- MegaFood Baby & Me 2 Prenatal Multi.
- Garden of Life Vitamin Code RAW Prenatals.
- Best Nest Wellness Mama Bird Prenatal Multi+ for a Healthy Pregnancy.
Why should women take folic acid before pregnancy?
If a woman has enough folic acid in her body before she is pregnant, it can help prevent major birth defects of her baby’s brain and spine. These birth defects are neural tube defects or NTDs. Women need to take folic acid every day, starting before they are pregnant to help prevent NTDs.
When to start taking prenatal vitamins?
You should start taking prenatal vitamins three months prior to conception if you are planning pregnancy, or as soon as pregnancy is confirmed if your pregnancy was not planned. In healthy US women, the most important ingredient in prenatal vitamins is folic acid (at least 400 mcg daily) for prevention of birth defects.
Why is too much vitamin A bad during pregnancy?
During pregnancy, it’s important not to get too much preformed vitamin A, which can cause birth defects and liver toxicity in high doses. (However, you can get as many carotenoids as you want from fruits and vegetables.)
What vitamins to take before getting pregnant?
Where to get pregnancy supplements.