How far in advance should you start taking prenatal vitamins when you want to have a baby?

Question

If I want to concieve a year from now, when should I start taking prenatal vitamins?

When do doctors usually give them to you when you are planning a pregnancy?

Answer 1

im a nutritionist

you should not take prenatal vitamins untill AFTER you are pregnant they have too much iron and not enough of everything else!

when trying to get pregnant take a regular multi with less than 8000IU of vitamin A as retinol acitate (beta carotene is fine though) and 400-800mcg of folate

good luck

Answer 2

Lots of opinions on this one. The folic acid is important for early development. Most people have a diet that is sufficient. But, since it is critical for the fetus to have this nutrient in the mother, its a good idea to supplement. The level of this can go up immediately, so taking them a few months before is sufficient.

The prescription prenates the OB gave me made me sick. So I got some food based ones from the health food store and they were fine. Took those and the folic acid for the first planned pregnancy, and she turned out fine. The second was not as planned, and she turned out fine as well. The third, was completely unplanned, and she turned out fine too. So, after the fact, my OB tells me that the supplementation is a good guideline, yet eating healthy is more important. I think he is right, and after 10,000 deliveries (no kidding), he probably has a good grasp on this. Most important is to not stress out, this will drain you of energy and make pregnancy much harder.

Now, one thing to remember after you have the baby. While you are breastfeeding, you burn up an extra 1000mg of calcium a day! That is hard to replace, so a good calcium citrate supplement is probably very wise. Have fun making a great baby!

Answer 3

Start taking them now. My OB said that all women of child bearing age should be taking prenatal vitamins. They don't have anything in them that is unhealthy for you, and it helps if you have a surprise pregnancy. Ask your pharmacist or a doctor about taking additional folate acid or iron. Also, they really do make your hair and nails grow really fast.

Oh, and lots of luck! I loved being pregnant!

Answer 4

My dad is a Dr, and he told me that I could start taking the over-the-counter prenatals whenever I wanted. He suggested that they are a good vitamin to be taking (for women, anyway) regardless of your plans to become pregnant. They are rich in the supplements that women should be getting on a regular basis anyway.

Answer 5

When I planned to have my daughter I told my doctor and right then and there she gave me a prescription for prenatal vitamins. I got pregnant with my daughter less than 2 months later. It won't hurt to take them now.

Answer 6

Not sure if it's common knowledge, but prenatal vitamins are available over the counter. They are with the other vitamins and the bottle is usually hard to spot.

Answer 7

that's now recommended that you may take prenatal supplementations daily that you're of kid-bearing age. that's because the overall public of pregnancies are unplanned. you may be getting a lot of folic acid...it absolutely gained't damage.

Answer 8

You can start pre-natals before you are pregnant. And after pregancy if u are planning to breastfeed...To prepapre your body with supplements and minerals for your body and the baby...and an ob/gyn about when to start

Answer 9

I would Start taking them as soon as I decide that I want to try and get pregnant. you never know you might end up pregnant on the first try.

Answer 10

Start taking them now. Be sure they have folic acid in them. It is never to early to take them. Every woman of childbearing age should be taking them because you never know when you may get pregnant.

Good Luck to YOu!!