Did you take your prenatal vitamins--EVERY day???

I never took them. Never even heard of them before moving back to the US as an adult. And they were never recommended. I was in the UK, rural Gloucestershire, and it wasn't ever even mentioned. None of my colleagues or friends who were pregnant took them. I have a big, strong, healthy three year old here, so it obviously wasn't a life or death issue.

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I've read European countries don't take pre-natal vitamins, and that it's not pushed there, because they tend to eat better diets than Americans. Don't know for sure if that's true - maybe a European reader can give more accurate information. I do know the reason they're pushed so heavily in the US is that most people don't eat diets with all the nutrition they need in it. In a country like like, where all the best foods are available, THAT's what I can't understand. Many people who have the means to pay for and access to nutritious foods simply don't eat them. That's what I can't get.

That said, I took my prenatals before getting pregnant and during my pregnancy because I too paranoid not to. I'm still breastfeeding, but I don't take them anymore. I just eat a healthy diet.

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I didn't take them either. I just tracked what I ate each day. At least, then I knew where the vitamins/minerals were coming from. The kicker is that I actually craved healthier foods during my pregnancy. Mmmm, wheat germ and flax on steel-cut oats with no sugar.

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My mom took them all with #5 and ended up with a fat baby who ripped her like anything. He was no more healthy than her first four kids, just fat, and actually developed issues that are related to the hormonal influences of fatness. He was also the only child in the family who was loud and obnoxious. After that, my mom advised friends to take the vitamins only partly through the pregnancy. With her #6, she stopped after several months, and #6 was a normal-sized, very bright, pleasant, and capable baby.

I've never been pregnant, but I don't put a ton of stock in pills of any type. I take a multivitamin daily since I'm older, and if I were pregnant, I would research what additional stuff was recommended while pregnant and specifically why, and then try to get it through food or some other practical way. I really don't think you could convince me to take a $10 daily pill just because it was generally recommended by people who get paid to recommend it to everyone. I know too many babies who were born just fine without vitamins.

The tone of your post is condescending toward people like me, but I think it's more intelligent to question and research the advice that doctors give to "everyone," not blindly follow it. There are a lot of standard health recommendations that are eventually proven wrong, or right only for a subset of people. While many people think they are doing a great thing by following these suggested drug / medical regimens, they have forgotten more meaningful advice such as "an apple a day . . . ."

I might also add that the US is the only country whose doctors routinely recommend a lot of things that are questionable regarding pregnancy and childbirth. Why do we assume the vitamin recommendation is any different?

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I do agree that forgetfulness is not necessarily a good reason not take one's prenatals; however, there can be other reasons and one should never assume and (hopefully) never judge. For example, one of my close friends faithfully took hers every day. And up they came about 10 minutes later. She tried different brands of vitamins, took them at different times of day, etc. Nothing worked. Finally, in her third trimester she gave up and just kept eating as healthily as possible. Her son is now 4 and shows no ill effects.

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I took Materna religiously. I stopped taking them regularly when my daughter stopped nursing. Since then I've noticed that Materna is the only vitamin that makes me feel "normal". I'm sluggish with others.

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While I have taken prenatals with all 3 of my pregnancies, and I probably needed them with my first as I was existing off of KFC, ice cream and decaf iced tea, I mostly look at them now as insurance. I don't think it's a bad idea to take them, but to completely attack women who don't - especially if they are otherwise getting a good overall diet - is ridiculous. I think one of the problems with the ease of availability of vitamin supplements is that too many people think they are taking a multi, so they can continue to eat their crappy diet, and they'll still be fine.

I'd much rather see someone eating a superior diet and neglecting the vitamins altogether than someone eating the Standard American Diet and popping a pill every day.

And, it is my understanding that the most important time for folic acid is actually prior to and immediately after conception, and so that generally by the time a woman knows she is pregnant, the folic acid won't make that much of a difference, as the problems would have already shown up.

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I take them every single day and I am trying to get pregnant. I took them every single day with my first two as well. I feel like they not only protect the baby, but me. The babies will take whatever they need from you, so if you don't take them you are the one who could lose out on some important vitamins/minerals your body needs.

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Jennifer,
Like you, I took my prenatals -- faithfully -- EVERY DAY up until my children were weaned from breastfeeding. I never skipped one. I am doubly neurotic when I'm pregnant and I did not want to risk anything.

Interestingly, it's not really the baby that is at risk when moms don't take their vitamins; it's the MOM. Eating healthy is great and all, but you can never eat enough to cover the nutritive requirements of both yourself AND a growing child.
What the vitamins REALLY do is ensure that the mother doesn't end up with shortages in her own system. While the added folic acid is obviously there to protect the fetus, the reality is that (as adorable as they are!), our sweet unborn babies are like little parasites. They WILL get what they need, robbing the mother's body in the process. That's why I don't doubt, one bit, that babies born without taking prenatals are healthy, but I'd like to see before and after comparisons on various levels for MOM.

This is why pregnant moms often come away from pregnancy with dental problems, weakened immune systems, and decreased bone mass. And since "eating for two" is no longer considered acceptable, taking a prenatal will ensure the mother's body is not robbed of vital nutrients required to keep her healthy and strong, long after the baby has arrived.

And vitamins do NOT cause weight gain in the baby. That is a fallacy and old wives' tale. The fact is, by baby #5, your mom was bound to have a larger baby for any number of reasons (age, diet, borderline gestational diabetes, etc.).

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I did take mine religiously throughout my pregnancy, mostly because I'm a ritualist! I considered prenatals extra protection, knowing that my diet already adequately covered folic acid and iron requirements. From what I understand, prenatals are more vital in conjunction with the diets of underdeveloped countries, or those who don't eat well (or can't keep it down). As some earlier posters mentioned, I think this issue is just another uniquely American you-must-do-or-not-do pregnancy credos that needs to be taken with a large grain of salt.

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Like Judy's friend, I was unable to take the prenatal vitamins consistently. They made me barf. In fact, just about everything made me barf, even after I started taking medication (Zofran) for the nausea (before the meds, water made me barf). I subsisted for several months on dry Cheerios, peeled apple slices, and frozen waffles. When my OB handed me a flyer with nutritional advice for pregnant women, I was practically in tears--all those things I couldn't keep down. I was terrified that my baby would be harmed by my sickness. My doc gently explained to me that the baby would be fine--"a fetus is a very efficient parasite," she told me. The baby would take what it needed from my body; the nutritional guidelines are largely there to protect the mother's long-term health. I lost 20lbs in the first two trimesters of my pregnancy, as the baby consumed me. Eventually, the nausea went away, and I was able to eat almost normally.

There is too much guilt laden on women. Surely, it is good insurance to take the prenates regularly. But that doesn't mean that women who fail to take them are automatically doomed to unhealthy babies.

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I think the human body is remarkably adept at gleaning what it needs from what we eat AS LONG AS we give it great food. Vitamins are an adequate backup but I'd far rather depend on my diet to provide most of what I (and a baby/fetus) needs. Not that I don't take prenatals while pregnant, but I don't fret if I miss a pill. All that said, it cartainly doesn't hurt to make sure you get enough folic acid - that one's too important to miss and it's so easy to pop a B-vitamin (or a woman's daily, or a prenatal, or whatever.)

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Sigh, prenatals are up there with the calcium supplements and fish oil capsules. If someone would spend there time reminding me it'd help but right now with two boys under 2 and a nonexistent schedule for one of them, it just gets forgotten. To me the primary reason one needs to take their prenatals is the folic acid it adds to ones diet, nothing more - the rest can be neglected and taken and forgotten and taken the next day. Ideally we are all eating our greens anyway.

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Let's see...I'm in my third month of my sixth pregnancy. I have been pregnant and/or breastfeeding every single day for nearly 14 1/2 years. That's a whole lotta days and a whole lotta vitamins that I "should" have been taking. I think I've been through maybe 5 bottles of 100 pills each.

I don't think they're that important and that's why I'm not vigilant about taking them. I had a friend who noticed that she was more tired on the days when she didn't take hers, so I try to be more vigilant. I haven't noticed a difference, though there may be one...I don't really ever notice things like that.

It's really not as big a deal as you make it. I kind of chuckle because I probably could write a post about people who don't say a morning prayer every single day and how could they do such a thing and risk their souls by neglecting their prayer life??!? And how could you put a birth control pill in your body every single day when it serves to screw up your body's system? And how can vegans deprive themselves of dairy products? And why would someone leave their dryer running when they leave the house?

This is most definitely a "dif'rent strokes for dif'rent folks" topic. The answer to your question, "if I can do it, why can't others?" is simply that others don't think it's very important.

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I took them three months prior to trying to conceive and every single day while I was pregnant. I only breastfed for a few months, but I took them then, too. Some days, I didn't eat too well, but at least I always had the vitamin backup. It made me feel a tiny bit in control at a time when my body just took me over.

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I always took mine, and any other things I might take, faithfully. I also took them prior to conception and even though I am not trying to conceive now, I take them just in case. I can't see being irresponsible about that stuff. But if you eat a healthy diet that's certainly a better bet than relying on a pill for all your nutrition.

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I love SKL's reasoning not to take pre-natals: she has a fat, annoying little brother who became that way because of them. And 5 perfect siblings (capable, pleasant, and normal sized!) created without 'em. That's some interesting science we've got there.

ANYWAY - just wanted to say that vitamins are a good idea for people that aren't eating a healthy diet (many of us). So generally I would say that you should take the darn pre-natal, but I can't say I'm as militant as Jennifer about it. It's not as though missed pill=deformed baby.

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I was the girl who up chucked them every time I took them, with kid #2 - kid one I took them with no problem, I think you should do what makes you feel good - they gave me energy the first time - nothing worked the second.

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Prenatals made me vomit. In fact, I tried taking my prenatals again AFTER I gave birth and was breastfeeding, and they STILL made me vomit. Not as I took them--I can choke down any horse pill you throw at me--but about two hours afterwards, about the time that I'd forgotten that I'd taken one and wondered why the heck I suddenly felt like I had morning sickness again.

But I eat a very healthy, veggie-rich diet, and my doctor's theory was the the prenatals were making me vomit because I was already receiving the amount of various vitamins and minerals that I needed in a day. During pregnancy, I tracked my intake and switched to taking only what I might not have been receiving enough of diet-wise (folic acid, B6, calcuim w/D) and those didn't make me vomit.

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Sheesh. Judgmental much? I didn't take prenatal vitamins because I think that if you eat a decent diet and make sure you get enough leafy greens, the "information" about them amounts to so much marketing hype. If anything, I think the pills encourage deficiencies because there are hundreds -- maybe thousands -- of nutrients in whole foods that are not in the pills, and the ones that are in the pills work very differently in isolation than they do when they are in a food.

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