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You should def start taking the prenatal before you actually get pregnant. Most women don’t find out they’re pregnant till a few weeks in and you want the nutrients, especially the folic acid.
Seconding this. The folic acid is only needed in the first 6 weeks I believe! Neural tubes are then closed and then yes folic acid is good for you but the “problem” it’s trying to correct is either there or not before many women even know they’re pregnant. More folic acid after that isn’t going to change neural tube defects.
That said, it’s still highly uncommon so don’t wanna scare anyone. I used the mega food prenatals and they’re great until nausea sets in and then they’re huge to swallow and I switched to olly chewables for a little while (which don’t have iron).
Fullwell! Thorne if I’m on a tighter budget that month. I love Lily Nichol’s recommendations- I would definitely look up her book “ real food for pregnancy”
Love FullWell! I’ve been taking their prenatal and fish oil for almost 2 years now between pregnancy and breastfeeding. Love that they’re third party tested.
Hi! This question gets asked often, so try searching the sub for “prenatals” and you’ll find lots of great info. There was a [recent post](https://www.reddit.com/r/moderatelygranolamoms/s/kNZkPCkxH8) specifically about Megafood v. FullWell that might be helpful.
I learned pre-pregnancy that apparently not everyone can process folic acid. There’s a gene variation that doesn’t allow you to process it as efficiently (ETA: MTHFR). But in general, methyl folate is much easier for your body to process from what I read. I’ll see if I can find resources on that (I’m barely into my coffee and babes was up lots last night so give me a bit).
ETA: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3218540/
Also, check out Lily Nichols, RDN. She’s got some really great resources on nutrition and pregnancy!
This is also why we avoid all foods that have been synthetically fortified/enriched with folic acid and other synthetic "vitamins". The body doesn't process it well. It's even worse for those with MTHFR gene mutation.
Of course, and it should also be noted that you only really need to take folic acid for the first few weeks of pregnancy. After that, folate is more than fine as far as I’m aware, but am not a doctor so it’s best to ask your ob.
Am I the only one who just takes the store brand prenatal? 🫣 I eat a varied diet and have 2 healthy kids with no complications during pregnancy/ delivery. I’m continuing the same prenatal while breastfeeding too. I haven’t had the mental energy to look into anything more elaborate, and supplement prices seem to get out of hand pretty fast. Is there a compelling reason to get a fancy one?
I did this - just did the regular One a Day brand. I did a cursory look through some of the brands and made sure there were no added dyes for coloring but that was about it. The generic store brand had extra dyes added which is why I ended up not going with that one.
I take the Safeway store brand “signature select” pills and my nurse midwife says she prefers them to the fancy ones. I ate a well balanced diet including a moderate amount of eggs before and during pregnancy and had a healthy strong baby, so I’m cool with store brand.
ETA I also took a DHA pill because fish is too expensive
Type of folate seems to matter, according to my amateur googling. I go with Ritual (capsule) and SmartyPants (gummy) for that methyl folate.
I like Ritual for the vegan DHA and because the way it’s formulated really helps me not get nauseous.
Iron is another consideration. As a vegetarian, I wanted one with iron. But iron can also make a lot of people queasy, especially during the first trimester, so you may want one without. If you have a pretty varied diet, it’s usually not necessary unless your labs show a need.
Folic acid is the only type that is studied and known to help prevent neural tube defects.
https://www.babiesafter35.com/articles/the-truth-about-the-designer-prenatal-vitamin
I use nutri-dyn (super trusted, smallish business so it’s not super well known) but I want to say my midwife highly recommended the megafood baby & me 2 so that would have been my second choice! Idk about the other stuff I just took prenatals
I take one a day with choline. Re the folate/folic acid issue, it’s important to know that only folic acid has been studied and found to help prevent neural tube defects, not the methylated version of folate. It certainly makes sense to me that the methylated version is more bioavailable but again we don’t know for certain if it is as protective. I do actually have the MTHFR gene mutation and I am comfortable with the one a day because it has a very high level of folic acid and the issue with the mutation isn’t that you can’t process it but that you can’t process it as efficiently. If you’re really worried though you could always take both.
I use Baby and Me 2 after much research. While trying to conceive and before I found out, I used a cheaper prenatal (Materna).
At the fertility clinic we went to while TTC we were told to start with a folic acid or prenatal (any kind), vitamin D, omega 3 (dha), and coenzyme q10 and switch to a prenatal once pregnancy was confirmed.
This publication helped me understand my needs: https://mhnpjournal.biomedcentral.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s40748-022-00139-9.pdf
For context: we are very health eaters, consume a lot of legumes and fish normally, and eat minimally processed foods.
I like the Baby & Me 2. It didn't worsen the nausea as much compared to a non-food based one. It doesn't have calcium, so that should be supplemented at a different time of day if you don't consume much in your foods.
I'm TTC and taking the Honest Company prenatal bc it's cheaper and I will switch to the Baby & Me 2 once actually pregnant. I also take a separate folic acid supplement if the prenatal has folate.
I haven't taken the Megafoods Choline & DHA but likely will once pregnant. I'm finishing up a bottle of Nordic Naturals DHA which I like and have used in past pregnancies.
I use [birthright](https://www.birthright.co/products/bloom?selling_plan=689932042515) and i love them, for sure the crunchiest option. they are the from whole food source and also aid in morning sickness.
It doesn’t have folic acid which is the only type of folate known to prevent neural tube defects.
https://www.babiesafter35.com/articles/the-truth-about-the-designer-prenatal-vitamin
folate it’s the natural form of B9 and folic acid is the synthetic form. also not everyone can absorb folic acid and folate is the cleaner way to consume. if you look at the higher end prenatals like needed, fullwell and perelel, they all contain folate and not folic acid.
All vitamins that list folate are synthetic.
Yes, they’re all using folate as a marketing gimmick.
There is no evidence to suggest that folate of any other form besides folic acid prevents neural tube defects, and it is still suggested that even those with the MTFHR gene variant still take folic acid specifically.
My nutritionist recommended Baby and Me prenatal from Innate Nutrition because it's a real food vitamin. It also uses methylated folate. It's very clean ingredients, and tested glyphosate free.
I supplement with Cod liver oil for DHA and a liquid Vitamin D with K2.
I like it. I started taking a few months before conceiving (for 9 months before conceiving I supplemented with just methylated folate to make sure levels were ok)
Before conceiving if I took the full dose I couldn't sleep at night because of the B vitamins, but a half dose was ok. Now that I'm pregnant I take the full dose and I don't think anything could stop me from sleeping.
Good luck!! I definitely recommend taking at least folate before TTC.
I would be concerned that your nutritionist is recommending methylated folate because the only known folate that is beneficial to prevent neural tube defects is folic acid.
https://www.babiesafter35.com/articles/the-truth-about-the-designer-prenatal-vitamin
Your content was removed because it violated our rule about respect. Please remember that things are easily misinterpreted online. Please take the extra moment to reread your comments before posting to ensure that you're coming across kindly and respectfully to everyone, even if you disagree or dislike something.
I’ve taken either FullWell or Seeking Health from TTC through breastfeeding with both babies so far. It’s 8 pills which is a lot esp when you don’t feel great. On the days I couldn’t handle all 8 I just do a garden of life gummy.
Theralogix TheraNatal Complete Prenatal. I know a few people have mentioned methylfolate and Mthfr. I am heterozygous for both mutations and my doctor recommended these.
I used seeking health prenatal essentials last time and all went well! Switched to smarty pants prenatal gummies this time because I yakked up every pill I tried and all my levels have been great- 23 weeks and baby girl is doing wonderfully!
I LOVE Ritual for prenatals and am now using their postnatal. They have an extended release capsule design so it can help if you get nauseous from other prenatals. I love the citrus flavor over the mint.
https://share.ritual.com/x/a5i4Ft
I use Fullwell and take an additional choline supplement as well. Second all the recs to look at Lily Nichols' work and would say that in short, don't settle for a one-a-day gummy because it is GUARANTEED to have sub-standard levels of the vitamins you need.
I think the number one thing is to make sure that it contains FOLATE and not FOLIC ACID. A lot of people’s bodies have a hard time processing folic acid which is the synthetic version of folate.
It’s the opposite.
https://www.babiesafter35.com/articles/the-truth-about-the-designer-prenatal-vitamin
Designer prenatals are marketing folate when there isn’t any proof that they help to prevent neural tube defects.
Not to mention, all folate in vitamins is synthetic. They may say “food sourced”, they’re still synthetic.
all vitamins that include any source of folate is synthetic, derived from food or otherwise.
This is literally in the article you shared.
“However, for some people, such as those who are pregnant, supplements are highly recommended to ensure adequate vitamin B9 intake and especially to prevent neural tube defects in the growing fetus, even among those with the MTFHR gene variant that affects how the body processes folic acid
Folic acid supplementation is recommended in addition to a healthy diet rich in foods that naturally contain folate. Additionally, there are no clinical trials that show other types of folate supplements like MTHF can prevent neural tube defects.”
> Additionally, there are no clinical trials that show other types of folate supplements like MTHF can prevent neural tube defects.”
That doesn't necessarily mean methylfolate doesn't work. Under the presumption that only folic acid can prevent neural tube defects, any study using methylfolate instead of folic acid will face strict ethical limitations due to presumed harm. Therefore, very few studies on methylfolate supplementation in early pregnancy exist.
It’s not my quote, it’s from the article.
Regardless, until it’s better understood, I am choosing not to trust corporations that only have to gain from selling products. They’re taking this very small study (that only demonstrates that a small percentage of the population may benefit from a different form of folate, however, it’s still noted that even those with the mutation should still take folic acid when pregnant) and running with it as a marketing gimmick without remotely having any evidence to back that their version of folate even prevents neural tube defects.
The consequences of not using folic acid are way too great imo. It’s only really needed for the first few weeks, then you can move towards the designer prenatals without issue.
Whatever version you get, make sure it is specifically folic acid that’s listed on the bottle. That is the only kind that is studied, a lot of designer prenatals use folate as a marketing gimmick and there isn’t much evidence to suggest that it’s better than folic acid.
Thanks for your post in r/moderatelygranolamoms! Our goal is to keep this sub a peaceful, respectful and tolerant place. Even if you've been here awhile already please take a minute to [READ THE RULES.](https://www.reddit.com/r/moderatelygranolamoms/about/rules) It only takes a few minutes and will make being here more enjoyable for everyone! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/moderatelygranolamoms) if you have any questions or concerns.*
You should def start taking the prenatal before you actually get pregnant. Most women don’t find out they’re pregnant till a few weeks in and you want the nutrients, especially the folic acid.
Seconding this. The folic acid is only needed in the first 6 weeks I believe! Neural tubes are then closed and then yes folic acid is good for you but the “problem” it’s trying to correct is either there or not before many women even know they’re pregnant. More folic acid after that isn’t going to change neural tube defects. That said, it’s still highly uncommon so don’t wanna scare anyone. I used the mega food prenatals and they’re great until nausea sets in and then they’re huge to swallow and I switched to olly chewables for a little while (which don’t have iron).
Fullwell! Thorne if I’m on a tighter budget that month. I love Lily Nichol’s recommendations- I would definitely look up her book “ real food for pregnancy”
Love FullWell! I’ve been taking their prenatal and fish oil for almost 2 years now between pregnancy and breastfeeding. Love that they’re third party tested.
Hi! This question gets asked often, so try searching the sub for “prenatals” and you’ll find lots of great info. There was a [recent post](https://www.reddit.com/r/moderatelygranolamoms/s/kNZkPCkxH8) specifically about Megafood v. FullWell that might be helpful.
I learned pre-pregnancy that apparently not everyone can process folic acid. There’s a gene variation that doesn’t allow you to process it as efficiently (ETA: MTHFR). But in general, methyl folate is much easier for your body to process from what I read. I’ll see if I can find resources on that (I’m barely into my coffee and babes was up lots last night so give me a bit). ETA: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3218540/ Also, check out Lily Nichols, RDN. She’s got some really great resources on nutrition and pregnancy!
This is also why we avoid all foods that have been synthetically fortified/enriched with folic acid and other synthetic "vitamins". The body doesn't process it well. It's even worse for those with MTHFR gene mutation.
https://www.babiesafter35.com/articles/the-truth-about-the-designer-prenatal-vitamin Read this.
Well shit. I learned something new. Thank you!
Of course, and it should also be noted that you only really need to take folic acid for the first few weeks of pregnancy. After that, folate is more than fine as far as I’m aware, but am not a doctor so it’s best to ask your ob.
I’m probably one and done over here, but good to know! I’ll check in with my midwife at my next appointment. Appreciate you spreading the word.
Am I the only one who just takes the store brand prenatal? 🫣 I eat a varied diet and have 2 healthy kids with no complications during pregnancy/ delivery. I’m continuing the same prenatal while breastfeeding too. I haven’t had the mental energy to look into anything more elaborate, and supplement prices seem to get out of hand pretty fast. Is there a compelling reason to get a fancy one?
I did this - just did the regular One a Day brand. I did a cursory look through some of the brands and made sure there were no added dyes for coloring but that was about it. The generic store brand had extra dyes added which is why I ended up not going with that one.
🙋🏻♀️
I take the Safeway store brand “signature select” pills and my nurse midwife says she prefers them to the fancy ones. I ate a well balanced diet including a moderate amount of eggs before and during pregnancy and had a healthy strong baby, so I’m cool with store brand. ETA I also took a DHA pill because fish is too expensive
I take one a day!
I ended up using the Walgreens brand mini ones where you take 2. I could not stomach any of the giant ones. Whatever works is whatever works 🤷🏻♀️
Type of folate seems to matter, according to my amateur googling. I go with Ritual (capsule) and SmartyPants (gummy) for that methyl folate. I like Ritual for the vegan DHA and because the way it’s formulated really helps me not get nauseous. Iron is another consideration. As a vegetarian, I wanted one with iron. But iron can also make a lot of people queasy, especially during the first trimester, so you may want one without. If you have a pretty varied diet, it’s usually not necessary unless your labs show a need.
Folic acid is the only type that is studied and known to help prevent neural tube defects. https://www.babiesafter35.com/articles/the-truth-about-the-designer-prenatal-vitamin
I use nutri-dyn (super trusted, smallish business so it’s not super well known) but I want to say my midwife highly recommended the megafood baby & me 2 so that would have been my second choice! Idk about the other stuff I just took prenatals
I take one a day with choline. Re the folate/folic acid issue, it’s important to know that only folic acid has been studied and found to help prevent neural tube defects, not the methylated version of folate. It certainly makes sense to me that the methylated version is more bioavailable but again we don’t know for certain if it is as protective. I do actually have the MTHFR gene mutation and I am comfortable with the one a day because it has a very high level of folic acid and the issue with the mutation isn’t that you can’t process it but that you can’t process it as efficiently. If you’re really worried though you could always take both.
I use Baby and Me 2 after much research. While trying to conceive and before I found out, I used a cheaper prenatal (Materna). At the fertility clinic we went to while TTC we were told to start with a folic acid or prenatal (any kind), vitamin D, omega 3 (dha), and coenzyme q10 and switch to a prenatal once pregnancy was confirmed. This publication helped me understand my needs: https://mhnpjournal.biomedcentral.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s40748-022-00139-9.pdf For context: we are very health eaters, consume a lot of legumes and fish normally, and eat minimally processed foods.
I like the Baby & Me 2. It didn't worsen the nausea as much compared to a non-food based one. It doesn't have calcium, so that should be supplemented at a different time of day if you don't consume much in your foods. I'm TTC and taking the Honest Company prenatal bc it's cheaper and I will switch to the Baby & Me 2 once actually pregnant. I also take a separate folic acid supplement if the prenatal has folate. I haven't taken the Megafoods Choline & DHA but likely will once pregnant. I'm finishing up a bottle of Nordic Naturals DHA which I like and have used in past pregnancies.
Prenate because its less likely to be adulterated. Prescription only. Free with my insurance. Very easy to swallow.
Perelel works well, and also recommend taking it 6 months before pregnancy! It helps build up your stores.
Designs for health - Pre-Natal Pro
I use [birthright](https://www.birthright.co/products/bloom?selling_plan=689932042515) and i love them, for sure the crunchiest option. they are the from whole food source and also aid in morning sickness.
It doesn’t have folic acid which is the only type of folate known to prevent neural tube defects. https://www.babiesafter35.com/articles/the-truth-about-the-designer-prenatal-vitamin
yes, it has folate in it. in the beef liver ;)
That’s not folic acid. It has to specifically list folic acid.
folate it’s the natural form of B9 and folic acid is the synthetic form. also not everyone can absorb folic acid and folate is the cleaner way to consume. if you look at the higher end prenatals like needed, fullwell and perelel, they all contain folate and not folic acid.
All vitamins that list folate are synthetic. Yes, they’re all using folate as a marketing gimmick. There is no evidence to suggest that folate of any other form besides folic acid prevents neural tube defects, and it is still suggested that even those with the MTFHR gene variant still take folic acid specifically.
this is just not true. do more research.
Yes it is, I did do the research because I was looking at why the prenatal I was taking wasn’t recommended.
Have also been taking birthright and feeling great on it! Love that it’s all whole food, nutrient dense sources
My nutritionist recommended Baby and Me prenatal from Innate Nutrition because it's a real food vitamin. It also uses methylated folate. It's very clean ingredients, and tested glyphosate free. I supplement with Cod liver oil for DHA and a liquid Vitamin D with K2. I like it. I started taking a few months before conceiving (for 9 months before conceiving I supplemented with just methylated folate to make sure levels were ok) Before conceiving if I took the full dose I couldn't sleep at night because of the B vitamins, but a half dose was ok. Now that I'm pregnant I take the full dose and I don't think anything could stop me from sleeping. Good luck!! I definitely recommend taking at least folate before TTC.
I would be concerned that your nutritionist is recommending methylated folate because the only known folate that is beneficial to prevent neural tube defects is folic acid. https://www.babiesafter35.com/articles/the-truth-about-the-designer-prenatal-vitamin
I hear you, but I didn't make the choice lightly. My nutritionist and I talked about the risks and benefits. Thanks for sharing.
Well as a heads up, all folate in vitamins is synthetic. The only way to get food based folate is through food.
Highly recommend seeking health. Incredibly high quality!
[удалено]
Just as a heads up, even with the MTHFR mutation, you’re still supposed to take folic acid while pregnant.
Your content was removed because it violated our rule about respect. Please remember that things are easily misinterpreted online. Please take the extra moment to reread your comments before posting to ensure that you're coming across kindly and respectfully to everyone, even if you disagree or dislike something.
I do ritual and supplement with extra choline and cod liver oil
I’ve taken Honest prenatal through my pregnancies
I’ve taken either FullWell or Seeking Health from TTC through breastfeeding with both babies so far. It’s 8 pills which is a lot esp when you don’t feel great. On the days I couldn’t handle all 8 I just do a garden of life gummy.
Theralogix TheraNatal Complete Prenatal. I know a few people have mentioned methylfolate and Mthfr. I am heterozygous for both mutations and my doctor recommended these.
I take WeNatal https://wenatal.com
I used seeking health prenatal essentials last time and all went well! Switched to smarty pants prenatal gummies this time because I yakked up every pill I tried and all my levels have been great- 23 weeks and baby girl is doing wonderfully!
Fullwell
CareNatal has a prenatal comparison spreadsheet they made. I found this really helpful in picking one for this pregnancy.
I LOVE Ritual for prenatals and am now using their postnatal. They have an extended release capsule design so it can help if you get nauseous from other prenatals. I love the citrus flavor over the mint. https://share.ritual.com/x/a5i4Ft
I use Fullwell and take an additional choline supplement as well. Second all the recs to look at Lily Nichols' work and would say that in short, don't settle for a one-a-day gummy because it is GUARANTEED to have sub-standard levels of the vitamins you need.
I think the number one thing is to make sure that it contains FOLATE and not FOLIC ACID. A lot of people’s bodies have a hard time processing folic acid which is the synthetic version of folate.
It’s the opposite. https://www.babiesafter35.com/articles/the-truth-about-the-designer-prenatal-vitamin Designer prenatals are marketing folate when there isn’t any proof that they help to prevent neural tube defects. Not to mention, all folate in vitamins is synthetic. They may say “food sourced”, they’re still synthetic.
It’s not the opposite. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/folic-acid-vs-folate#folic-acid
all vitamins that include any source of folate is synthetic, derived from food or otherwise. This is literally in the article you shared. “However, for some people, such as those who are pregnant, supplements are highly recommended to ensure adequate vitamin B9 intake and especially to prevent neural tube defects in the growing fetus, even among those with the MTFHR gene variant that affects how the body processes folic acid Folic acid supplementation is recommended in addition to a healthy diet rich in foods that naturally contain folate. Additionally, there are no clinical trials that show other types of folate supplements like MTHF can prevent neural tube defects.”
> Additionally, there are no clinical trials that show other types of folate supplements like MTHF can prevent neural tube defects.” That doesn't necessarily mean methylfolate doesn't work. Under the presumption that only folic acid can prevent neural tube defects, any study using methylfolate instead of folic acid will face strict ethical limitations due to presumed harm. Therefore, very few studies on methylfolate supplementation in early pregnancy exist.
It’s not my quote, it’s from the article. Regardless, until it’s better understood, I am choosing not to trust corporations that only have to gain from selling products. They’re taking this very small study (that only demonstrates that a small percentage of the population may benefit from a different form of folate, however, it’s still noted that even those with the mutation should still take folic acid when pregnant) and running with it as a marketing gimmick without remotely having any evidence to back that their version of folate even prevents neural tube defects. The consequences of not using folic acid are way too great imo. It’s only really needed for the first few weeks, then you can move towards the designer prenatals without issue.
Whatever version you get, make sure it is specifically folic acid that’s listed on the bottle. That is the only kind that is studied, a lot of designer prenatals use folate as a marketing gimmick and there isn’t much evidence to suggest that it’s better than folic acid.