These are special formulations containing a number of minerals and vitamins needed to support the baby as well as the mothers health. In fact both the Centers for Disease Control Prevention CDC and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists ACOG recommend prenatal vitamins both before conception and throughout pregnancy.
Checking in with your physician for your specific needs is always important.
Otc prenatal vitamins. Theres no set-in-stone formula for prenatal vitamins but the majority of the options on the market contain these essentials. Folic acid 400-600 micrograms mcg. Before you conceive youll need 400 mcg of folic acid a day to prevent neural.
Iron 27 milligrams mg. Your body needs iron to. Whatre the Over the Counter Prenatal Vitamins.
Over-the-counter prenatal vitamins are widely available and can be found in any pharmacy. These are special formulations containing a number of minerals and vitamins needed to support the baby as well as the mothers health. They are calibrated exactly for the needs of pregnant women.
Iodine 150mcg. Your baby needs iodine for brain and nervous system development. Every prenatal vitamin should have iodine in it 3.
Other important vitamins and minerals to look for are. Vitamin B1 thiamine 3mg. Helps prevent fatigue and is responsible for eye brain and respiratory fetal development.
This is why considering prenatal vitamins could also help a lot not only for the mom but also for the growing baby. Are OTC Prenatal vitamins safe. We may hear most women who would prefer prescribed medications over OTC vitamins since they feel much safer if it was their doctor who recommended them the drugs.
However OTC vitamins arent bad after all. Besides theyre more convenient and not to. Prenatal vitamins contain vitamins nutrients and minerals your baby needs for healthy development.
These vitamins and nutrients are vital for proper growth and development. During pregnancy you need much higher intake of nutrients such as calcium folic acid folate and iron. Not all prenatal vitamins are created equal but you have to know what to look for in order to ensure youre getting whats best.
This option gives you a tasty alternative to the giant pills that can be tough to take at any point in your pregnancy much less when youre feeling queasy or have a full-size baby simultaneously pushing on your bladder and your stomach. Prenatal vitamins are there to fill in any nutritional gaps and make sure there is an abundance of all the vital nutrients your baby needs to growespecially magnesium zinc calcium vitamins B. Theyre free of fillers found in the OTC prenatal vitamins and they contain all of the right ingredients in healthy amounts so moms are never oversaturated in one vitamin or mineral.
Our Bump Boxes prenatal vitamins are dye- and filler-free. Sugar lactose and gluten-free. And also free.
The prescription vitamins are more tightly regulated. The OTC vitamins are classified as supplements. Until recently there were no standards for their manufacture.
The requirements are being phased in starting this summer. However if you picked a good brand you would be fine. I would recommend a USP certified OTC prenatal vitamin.
What is important are the ingredients within the prenatal vitamin. There are multivitamins that can be an excellent prenatal vitamin because they contain adequate amounts of iodine folate vitamin D vitamin B calcium and other vital nutrients needed in higher levels during pregnancy. Checking in with your physician for your specific needs is always important.
However it is good to be. So the big difference usually between prescription vs. OTC vitamins is the amount of folic acid.
400 to 600mcg is generally what youll see in an OTC version while the prescription pills sometimes contain up to 1000mcg. A woman may wonder why her doctor prescribed a prenatal supplement when the prenatal multivitamins she saw at the health food store were more potent. It might simply be convenience considering most over-the-counter OTC prenatal vitamins have benefits beyond their prescription counterparts.
Compared with prescription most OTC prenatals have three to four times. Most people can agree that prenatal vitamins are considered an important addition to a nutritious diet around the time of pregnancy. In fact both the Centers for Disease Control Prevention CDC and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists ACOG recommend prenatal vitamins both before conception and throughout pregnancy.
OTC products have significantly more of each vitamin compared with Rx with several exceptions including. Iron folic acid copper and vitamin B6. Most pregnant women take PMVMs.
If pregnant women are not consuming enough essential micronutrients from diet it is possible that PMVMs will provide adequate amounts. However this depends on the specific vitamin or mineral. Many prescription prenatal vitamins contain 1000 micrograms 1 milligram or more while on the average.
Most OTCs contain 800 micrograms 0008 mg or less. Learn more about FOLMAX our proprietary immediate and modified release folic acid used in vitaMedMDs vitaPearl. Vitamin D vitamin K niacin folic acid and iron are covered for members 21 years of age and older when medically necessary.
Generic prenatal vitamins are covered for all pregnant members. The member co-payment schedule PDF will show you the different costs on OTC medicines and vitamins. The Nordic Naturals Prenatal DHA contains 480mg DHA in every soft-gel capsule.
It makes up for the daily requirement of omega-3 fatty acids which are required for the brain development and growth of the baby. This product is 100 toxins free heavy-metal free and approved through quality testing by NSF International. Most over the counter vitamins contains D2 ergocalciferol which is also a source of Vitamin D but is not as readily absorbed by the body.
You can find D3 in over the counter prenatal vitamins but you have to look for it. DHA and Choline are other important nutrients but many brands do not contain them.