Prenatal Vitamins

Yep, I'm knocked up! 12 ½ weeks at the time of this blog post!

12 week baby bump

When I asked my OB/GYN last year what I needed to be doing if we were trying to try for a baby in the future, she told me three things:

1. Prenatal Vitamins
2. Fish Oil
3. Eat plenty of meat/protein

Prenatal Vitamins

If you've ever looked for prenatal vitamins, you'll find there are what seems like a bazillion different kinds. Where to start? It was overwhelming at first. 

I finally did come across some vitamins that fit my requirements though: New Chapter Perfect Prenatal

My reasons for choosing these vitamins: No dyes. No unfermented soy. No synthetic vitamins. Vitamin A is 100% from beta-carotene. Daily dose is split into 3 pills for better absorption and to be easier on the stomach. Contains probiotics for easy digestion. Not "horse-pill" sized, easy to swallow.

I started taking these about a year before we even planning on trying for a baby, so I've been taking them about 1 ½ years now. I've been very happy with them. 

As you can see in the picture below, they are brown pills without any coating. They have a slight smell reminiscent of hay or alfalfa.

Each pill is about the size of a Tylenol caplet.

Fish Oil

I already posted a short blog entry about fish oil a while back. The specific variety of Nordic Naturals fish oil I take is the Prenatal DHA.

Recommended by the American Pregnancy Association. 450 mg of DHA Comes from small fish (anchovies and sardines), which don't store mercury like large carnivorous fish do. And they are more sustainable. Goes through molecular distillation to remove any heavy metals. Not "horse-pill" sized, easy to swallow.

Vitamin D

While not on my OB/GYN's initial list, I also take extra Vitamin D. Most Americans are deficient in Vitamin D. 

Per an article from WebMD, women who took 4000 IU of Vitamin D were: Half as likely to develop gestational diabetes.  Half as likely to develop pregnancy-related high blood pressure / pre-eclampsia. Less likely to give birth prematurely. Less likely for both mother and baby to have insufficient Vitamin D levels. There has also been some speculation linking Vitamin D deficiency and autism. Though the cause of autism is still unknown, I find this an interesting theory. A few articles on the subject: What If Vitamin D Deficiency Is a Cause of Autism? (Scientific American) Autism and Vitamin D (Psychology Today) Autism - Patient Friendly Summary (Vitamin D Council) Note: Make sure you get Vitamin D3. Vitamin D2 is lower quality and not as readily used by the body. Update 12/31/2012: Yet another reason to take Vitamin D, women who take Vitamin D during pregnancy have a 61% lower risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS).