Prenatal vitamins can really be a drag. Every time I took one (read nearly every day for 27 or so months of my life) I ended up burping vitamin. Ugh. But they are so essential for your growing baby! My Ob had some great tips when it came to choosing a prenatal.

Her first bit of advice is that the prescription vitamins do the same job as the over the counter. For every fancy prescription prenatal you can find an over the counter with the same ingredient list. This may not be important to you, but if your insurance oddly doesn’t cover the cost of prenatals, the over the counter might be the way to go. For example, my co-pay for my prenatals was thirty dollars a month. Compare that to the eight dollars a bottle for the over the counter with the same stuff. 

Prenatals used to make my morning sickness worse. To combat that, my Ob suggested taking it at night, just before bed. If that gives your an upset stomach as well, cut them in half and take one in the morning and one at night. You can also ask your doctor for a chewable, or even liquid kind. If they are truly making you vomit, don’t take them until you pass the morning sickness phase. They don’t do you any good if you vomit them up, plus you are losing the other nutrients from the food you have eaten, and losing hydration as well.

If burping is driving you nuts, go for a gummy variety. For some reason, they don’t come back to bite you the same way. The most important things to look for when choosing a vitamin is the folic acid, iron, and calcium content. If you skip a day don’t panic, and do not double up and take two. As always, talk to your doctor about what is best for you and your baby. Taking prenatal vitamins should not be a drag!

-Stephanie Wright