Choosing the best pregnancy multivitamin
What to look for in a preconception & pregnancy supplement.
You may be wondering do you even need a pregnancy multivitamin, I mean women weren't taking them 100 years ago and had perfectly fine babies.
Well yes, that's true, however, life in the 21st century is vastly different (toxin exposure, diet, stressors etc) and research has shown that taking a well rounded multivitamin/mineral/antioxidant formula IS associated with better pregnancy outcomes for both mum and bub.
This includes things like less gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia, hypothyroidism and anaemia in women, and reduced risk of conditions such as spina bifida, preterm birth, asthma, eczema, allergies and learning difficulties in bub.
Although the GP may direct you straight to the pharmacy for Elevit, I want to let you know that there are other options available. These practitioner-grade supplements (require naturopath's script) are designed for optimal pregnancy health and don't substitute quality for cheap, mass production with nasty excipients.
Here are the top 3 things to look for in a quality preconception/pregnancy supplement:
1. Key nutrients - ensure your formula contains folate, B12, iron (unless you have hemochromatosis), zinc, vitamin D, choline, selenium and iodine.
2. Form of nutrients - stay away from cheap forms of vitamins and minerals that have low absorption and higher side effects, such as those ending with fumarate, sulfate, and oxide. Aim to find ones with bisglycinate, citrate and chelate in the names.
3. Dose of nutrients - some products are a 1 per day dose, others a 2 a day. Ensure the 'daily dose' is a minimum of the following:
400mcg of folic acid (preferably in an active form such as levomefolic)
500IU of vitamin D
150mcg of iodine
10mg of zinc
50mcg selenium
7mg of iron (preferably bisglycinate)
50mg choline
I recommend starting your pregnancy multi a minimum of 3 months before conception and continuing until after birth, or when you have finished breastfeeding.
It is also important to have regular blood tests throughout your pregnancy to ensure you don't need tailored dosing of certain nutrients based on your individual markers.
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