It’s a new year – a new you – and maybe even a new baby! Whatever your situation, you can benefit from a good prenatal supplement. But not all prenatals are alike!
Say what? The standard of prenatal nutrition varies from company to company and from pill to gel cap to liquid drink to protein shake (think Mommi). The levels and source of vitamins are the important things to watch for in making sure you are getting everything your baby needs (and you too) for a healthy pregnancy.
So I spent a little bit of time yesterday with our awesome CMO—Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Yvonne Bohn. We talked about all sorts of fun things but most importantly and what I wanted to share here is what are the trends for prenatals in 2016?
- Lower levels (or elimination) of Vitamin A – if you were cursed with acne like I was when I was a teenager, you are likely familiar with Accutane and/or Retin-A – both strong in Vitamin A, to clear up your skin. If you endured these treatments you also probably had to take pregnancy tests for the duration because those high levels of A can lead to birth defects.
- Gummies – who doesn’t like a gummy bear and especially when it’s good for you! These little gummies of goodness taste great and give you the prenatals and… get this… the DHA (fish oil no less) you need during pregnancy. But beware – you have to take 2 to get the daily recommended value and they don’t have iron because iron simply doesn’t get the gummy to gum. And many have high levels of sugar. So read the label and be mindful that you may need to take an extra iron supplement.
- Smaller size pills – for some reason if you don’t normally have a hard time taking a horse pill, you definitely do during pregnancy. Smaller-sized vitamins are becoming more popular – just make sure they are still packed with the levels you need to optimize nutrition.
- Drinkable prenatals – there are many studies on the positive effect of getting your vitamins in liquid form – they absorb quicker, act faster, and help with nausea that often hits shortly after taking large pills that tend to sit in your stomach and slowly dissolve.
Staying informed is so important for new health trends during pregnancy but there is a lot of noise out there and things change ALL the time – for a good rule of thumb we love Web MD’s Guide to Prenatal-Vitamins for what proper prenatal nutrition looks like. If you want to be really secure in your choices, compare this against the supplement facts on your prenatal of choice.
And “bottom’s up” if that includes a Mommi prenatal protein shake!! 🙂
