Dr. Marjorie Greenfield
Specializing in pregnancy and birth.
|
|
 Ask Dr. Greenfield
Chewable Prenatal Vitamins | | | QUESTION | | | Dear Dr. Greenfield,
My wife is 13 weeks pregnant and has been taking chewable prenatal vitamins for about 8 weeks now. She has been swallowing the vitamins because she doesn't like the taste of them. Is she negating or lessening the benefits by swallowing instead of chewing?— No Say Dad in New York | | | ANSWER |
August 17, 2001 | | | Dear No Say Dad,
Chewable prenatal vitamins were just recently developed to meet the needs of mothers-to-be who can't swallow pills. To answer your question directly, there is no problem with swallowing chewable vitamins. If your wife wants to take a supplement, though, I am not sure why she doesn't just obtain standard prenatal vitamins, which you usually swallow instead of chew. They may have less taste and be a bit easier to get down.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has evaluated the research on prenatal supplements and has come out recommending .4 mg folate supplementation beginning before pregnancy and continuing through the first trimester. Beyond that time, women who eat a healthy balanced diet probably don't need supplemental vitamins, although most women expect them and most practitioners provide them. All things being equal, it doesn't hurt to take a vitamin, but a healthy diet is at least as important, if not more so.
It sounds like you want to help your wife take good care of herself. I also wonder if calling yourself no-say-dad means that you are feeling like you don't have as much input as you'd like. I don't know how much of the cooking you usually do, but if your partner is tired or if food aromas are disturbing to her (as they often are in pregnancy) the dad's taking on more of the cooking can be a big help. You can offer your wife foods that are healthy when you are cooking the meals.
For more ideas of how to help your wife have a healthy pregnancy, see our Dad's Involvement in Pregnancy section.— by Marjorie Greenfield, M.D. |
|
