Prescription Prenatal Vitamins

March 18, 2010

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Prescription Prenatal Vitamins

by Elisa Ross, MD
reviewed and revised by Marjorie Greenfield, M.D.

Prenatal vitamins come in many formulations, but most have a few things in common. Prescription prenatal vitamins have more folic acid, iron, and calcium than the usual daily vitamin supplement. The exact ingredients are listed on the packages.

Prescription prenatal vitamins usually have 1 mg (or 1,000 micrograms) of folic acid in them. The extra dosage is not needed for protection of a fetus' spinal column, but is thought to help the baby make DNA building blocks and allow the mother to produce new red blood cells faster. Before pregnancy it is not necessary to take prescription prenatal vitamins, but it's not harmful either. Over-the-counter multivitamins or folate supplements are also fine.

The reason a prescription is needed for these higher folate prenatal vitamins is that the extra folic acid could possibly mask anemia caused by a rare disease that leads to deficiency of vitamin B12. If you have a family history of pernicious anemia, it is probably best to avoid more than 0.4 mg of supplemental folate until you are checked for anemia, a regular part of the blood tests you'll receive early in your pregnancy.

Different kinds of prescription prenatal vitamins
Different brands vary their product slightly to appeal to certain groups of mothers-to-be. Formulations are constantly changing, so ask your practitioner or pharmacist for up-to-date information. Here are some recent examples:

Prenate Advance contains a stool softener, and is kosher certified.

Obegyn is a powder to be mixed with water or juice.

NataChew is chewable. It has no calcium, and is kosher certified.

Nestabs FA is small, odorless, has no aftertaste and is kosher certified.

Natafort is small, doesn't contain calcium, and is kosher certified.

Prenate Elite is smaller and film-coated to minimize smell and taste.


RELATED INFORMATION

			Healthy Eating during Pregnancy
			Medications in Pregnancy

Created August 01, 2001
Reviewed and revised September 12, 2005

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