Everything You Need To Know About Prenatal Vitamins

When I became pregnant with my daughter Annabell, I didn’t know which prenatal vitamin to choose.

So, I did what so many other pregnant women do, I went in for my initial doctor’s visit and asked my OBGYN to recommended one. Within seconds, they prescribed me an under the counter $60 bottle, and the next day, I began taking it.

However, a few weeks later I began to recognize a strange connection between my morning sickness and my prenatal vitamins. Every day, I would wake up feeling fine but than the moment I took my vitamin, I would feel nauseous. At first, I thought it was just a coincidence but after experimenting with not taking the vitamin one morning, I found that my nausea completely stopped.

After reaching out to my doctor about this, they switched me to an over the counter $10 bottle of gummy prenatal vitamins and to my surprise, my sickness never came back.

This experience made me wonder why my doctor didn’t inform me that some prenatals can make you sick and why he had originally prescribed an expensive prenatal vitamin, instead of the cheaper version. I often wondered if the difference in price reflected a difference in quality and if my gummy vitamins were as nutritious as the pills.

During pregnancy, I never did get the answers to these questions, but after giving birth to my daughter and beginning my work with Expectful, I found that these questions weren’t unique to me. Many women were confused about prenatal vitamins and what actually constitutes a “healthy one.”

Recognizing this, it became clear to me that with all the brands out on the market today, it was difficult to know who to turn to for accurate, unbiased information on prenatal vitamins. This is what led me to reach out to award-winning OBGYN and author of she-ology: The Definitive Guide to Women’s Intimate Health, Dr. Sherry Ross to find out everything you need to know when it comes to choosing the best prenatal vitamin for you.

I hope Dr. Sherry’s answers give you the clarity and confidence to pick the prenatal that will support you and your growing baby.