There are a lot of prenatal supplements out there, and you want the best prenatal vitamins to support your pregnancy. Your role as a nurturing parent begins even before the baby is born. Taking a prenatal vitamin is a great way to ensure your baby is getting all the nutrients required for a healthy brain and body!
Why Take a Prenatal Vitamin?
A prenatal vitamin can give you all the nutrients a baby needs to grow up strong and reduce the risk of birth defects such as spina bifida. It can be hard to get everything you need from your diet alone, especially when your morning sickness isn’t letting you keep down anything more than some flat ginger ale and saltines!
A prenatal vitamin makes up for what your diet can’t provide during pregnancy.
Here are 10 recommendations of the best prenatal vitamins. Every pregnancy is different so a vitamin that works well for one person may not be best for you. These prenatal vitamins provide a diverse mix of some of the many factors influencing your vitamin choices, such as food allergies, dietary restrictions, or that dreaded morning sickness! Â
If you’re looking specifically for prenatal vitamins and supplements that are easy on an upset stomach, scroll down to the last five. Â
NatureMade Prenatal Multi + DHA
NatureMade is certainly a worthy contender as the best, affordable prenatal vitamin at 250 pills for $15.95. Despite the comparatively lower price tag, the vitamin does not sacrifice quality. This vitamin contains everything you would want in a prenatal vitamin, including iron, folic acid, and DHA. DHA is important for brain, eye, and bone development of your baby.
NatureMade also uses no preservatives, gluten, or synthetics in its creation, so the vitamin is true to its name when it says it’s nature made!
MegaFood Baby and Me
MegaFood Baby and Me contains a good cross-section of nutrients for you and your growing baby. You can feel good about where the nutrients are coming from too because the vitamin is non-GMO, does not use pesticides and herbicides, and is made from fresh farm food.
The cool thing about MegaFood Baby and Me is it’s higher in vitamin D than some prenatal vitamins. It might be a good vitamin choice if you’re pregnant during winter months and can’t get outside to soak up the sun.
Be warned though, it is lower in vitamin A and calcium and magnesium, so if you choose to use MegaFood, be sure to supplement either with a separate calcium and magnesium pill or through your diet.
It’s $32 for 130 tablets and you can purchase it on Amazon here.
Vitamin Code Raw Prenatal
There are some vitamins out there claiming to give you a lot of vitamins and minerals, but if your body isn’t able to properly absorb them, what’s the point? With the Vitamin Code Raw Prenatal, there’s optimal nutrient absorption because the ingredients are processed at a low heat. This low heat processing can make it easier for your body to access the nutrients. The ingredients are non-GMO and the vitamin contains no fillers, which means you’re only getting the best in this prenatal vitamin.
It’s lower in zinc and copper than most multivitamins, which can be a benefit if zinc upsets your stomach. However, this means you’ll have to get your zinc and copper elsewhere. The vitamin is very strong in iron, iodine, vitamin C and B though.
The biggest drawback to this prenatal vitamin is that you have to take 1 capsule 3 times a day. This can be inconvenient if you often forget to take pills or find taking even one pill is upsetting for your stomach. But if you don’t mind keeping to the schedule of 3 pills a day, this prenatal vitamin will serve you well. You can pick it up for $16.09 for 30 pills on Amazon.
One a Day Prenatal 1
One a Day Prenatal 1 is a good prenatal vitamin to take if you want to get all the essential vitamins and minerals but you aren’t having much stomach upset in your pregnancy. The capsule contains 200 mg of DHA in addition to folic acid, iron, and vitamins D, A, E, and C. At $21.20 for 60 capsules, it’s affordable as well.
The only drawback to this prenatal vitamin is that it comes in a large soft gel capsule, which would be difficult to swallow if you’re having trouble keeping food down. Apart from that, it is a fantastic choice for as a cost saving prenatal vitamin.
Brainstrong Prenatal
Brainstrong Prenatal packs all the essential vitamins and minerals into the multivitamin without breaking the bank. It contains 350 mg of DHA, which is much higher than what you can get from other multivitamins. It also contains 100% of the daily recommended dose of folic acid.
The vitamin does not have a fishy flavor or aftertaste that sometimes comes with high levels of fatty acids because it uses plant-based ingredients with no ocean-borne contaminants. Brainstrong Prenatal is an excellent choice if you’re budget conscious as it is $16 for 60 capsules.
New Chapter Perfect Prenatal Vitamin
The New Chapter Perfect Prenatal Vitamin really is perfect if you’re looking for a nutrient-packed vitamin that is easy on the stomach. New Chapter uses a 2-step fermentation process when creating the vitamin, which makes it easier to digest. It even contains some complementary ginger, as ginger can be soothing for digestion.
You can feel good about where the nutrients in the vitamin are coming from too. The vitamin and mineral sources are whole food-cultured, gluten free, and non-GMO. All of the ingredients are sustainably sourced, such as the Turmeric from India and salmon from Alaska.
The only thing to keep in mind is the prenatal vitamin does contain soy, so if you’re allergic to soy you may want to try another option on this list instead. It is $16.25 for 48 capsules.
Nordic Naturals Prenatal DHA
Nordic Naturals Prenatal DHA is all around one of the best prenatal vitamins out there. The vitamin contains more than double the dose of omega-3s than what usually comes in a prenatal vitamin. Those omega-3s will really come in handy during 3rd trimester brain development. What’s more, there isn’t any off putting fish taste despite all the fatty acids in the vitamin.
The iron in Nordic Naturals is a non-constipating form, so it’s easy on digestion. There’s strawberry-flavored and unflavored versions of the vitamin. If you have a sensitive stomach, this prenatal vitamin will not irritate you and you can always get the unflavored version if you’re worried about the strawberry taste putting you off.
Nordic Naturals has GMP (good manufacturing practice) compliance, which many dietary supplements don’t have. If that’s not enough to convince you, the Nordic Naturals Prenatal is an award winner too as it won the 2009 Top Notch Award for Taste for Life’s editors Baby and Toddler section. You can get it for $42.86 for 180 soft gel capsules here.
Rainbow Lite Prenatal One
Rainbow Lite Prenatal One is one of the best prenatal vitamins to choose if you have morning sickness or if you have other dietary restrictions. It is vegan, gluten, and sugar free. The Prenatal One uses a food based formula to get you your vitamins and minerals and has probiotics, which aids digestive health.
Iron is so important to have during pregnancy, but some iron supplements cause intestinal irritation. The vitamin uses a non-constipating form of iron to further reduce digestive discomfort.
One thing to keep in mind is the Prenatal One has some variance with vitamin A, meaning that the amount of vitamin A they put on the label is not always what will be in the pill. According to Labdoor, Prenatal One can sometimes be up to 37% off the label claim for vitamin A.
That being said, when you have morning sickness, sometimes getting any prenatal vitamin into you is a good thing. You may still want to check out the Prenatal One, but add some foods rich in vitamin A into your diet, such as carrots, sweet potato, or kale (kale chips anyone?).
It is $15.72 for 30 capsules, and you can buy it here. Â
VitaFusion Prenatal Gummy Vitamin
Gummy vitamins can be a handy alternative if you have a sensitive stomach. Try the VitaFusion Prenatal Gummy Vitamin if you find you’re getting sick no matter what size capsule you’re swallowing. The VitaFusion Prenatal has folic acid and DHA along with all the other important vitamins and minerals you need in a prenatal vitamin. The only thing it lacks is iron, because iron supplements can be hard on the digestive system. You can work around the vitamin’s lack of iron by making sure you have iron rich foods such as leafy green vegetables in your diet.
It comes in lemon and raspberry flavors, which makes your morning vitamin that much tastier. You can get the VitaFusion Prenatal at $67.97 for 90 gummies on Amazon.
Oxylent Prenatal Multivitamin Drink
If you are one of the unlucky moms-to-be who can barely keep a cracker down let alone a big vitamin, then you might want to try Oxylent’s Prenatal Multivitamin Drink instead. The Oxylent Prenatal Multivitamin Drink comes in a sparkling cranberry raspberry flavor and is sweetened with stevia, so you wouldn’t have to worry about adding too much extra sugar to your diet.
The powder form lets you add the mix to any drink you like, so you could provide your baby with valuable vitamins and minerals while sipping a cranberry raspberry lemonade. It  also contains a non-constipating form of iron, which makes it easier on the stomach.
You can pick it up for $28 for 30 packets on Amazon. Â
Final Words
These are the best prenatal vitamins out there and any one you choose can aid in your child’s development in-utero. There’s no time like the present to prepare your baby for a happy, healthy life, so pick the best prenatal vitamin for you! Make a note or set an alarm to remember to take one every day.
Have you tried any of these prenatal vitamins? We’d love to hear from you!
References
Rainbow Light Prenatal One Ratings. (2017) Retrieved from https://labdoor.com/review/rainbow-light-prenatal-one.
What are the best prenatal vitamins for you? Retrieved from
https://www.mamanatural.com/best-prenatal-vitamins/
Reschke, Glenn. Review of Nordic Naturals Prenatal DHA. Retrieved from
http://supplementreviewpal.com/review-of-nordic-naturals-prenatal-dha/
Perfect Prenatal Multivitamin. Retrieved from
https://www.newchapter.com/products/vitamins/perfect-prenatal-multivitamin/
6 Best Prenatal Vitamins You Can Buy Over the Counter. Retrieved from
http://www.whattoexpect.com/pregnancy/pregnancy-health/best-prenatal-vitamins-buy-over-counter/