Elevit & Folic Acid

Hi,

I'm a few weeks pregnant and had been taking Blackmore's Pragnance & Breast-feeding Gold since two months prior to conception. Now I switched to Elevit's Vitamins & Minerals for Pregnancy & Lactation because my girlfriend said her Ob recommended it (I'm still few weeks away from my first Ob appointment). I noticed that Elevit's tablet contains 800 um of Folic Acid for a daily dose while Blackmore's has 500 mcg, and from all the readings from Internet, I think 500mcg of Folic Acid is the recommended amount? So is 800 um too much?

Concerned,
tt

Moving to pregnancy general discussion.

The rate of folic acid which is dangerous is very high. That dose is fine.

i recently compared the boxes of blackmores and elevitt. i think blackmores folic acid amount is adequate:) i think alot of people have 'folic acid' hysteria so think more is better...might go look up the RDA;)
blackmore had things that elevitt didnt....fish oil/DHA and iodine.
the elevitt did have alot of iron, 60mg. blackmores has 10mg....but i cant see why you'd need that much unless you were deficient? it might cause constipation...

RDA of folic acid from wikipedia;

:

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Women who could become pregnant are advised to eat foods fortified with folic acid or take supplements in addition to eating folate-rich foods to reduce the risk of some serious birth defects. Taking 400 micrograms of synthetic folic acid daily from fortified foods and/or supplements has been suggested. The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for folate equivalents for pregnant women is 600 micrograms.

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My professor also highly recommends Elevit. It is apparently the only pregnancy vitamin that is actually proven to increase the birth weight of babies. This is great for people like myself who have their babies early.

Exactly joh, folic acid is also found in real foods! :)

I took Elevit during my pregnancy and I cant recommend them HIGHLY enough!!!! I have been plugging them to any pregnant people I get than chance!!
They were just AWESOME!!! I had more energy than before I was pregnant as my body didnt have to struggle its little guts out to provide for the baby... There was plenty of suppliment for the both of us!!
Not sure about the folic acid levels....

Good luck with it all....

xox

My FS has me on both Elevit and Megafol. So going by that, what is just in Elevit is not too much!!

tt, i was taking Elevit, but it was making ridiculously constipated so i have stopped taking it and am now just taking Blackmores Folate tablets (seeing as my GP said the only supplement i needed was folate in any case)...
someone in another thread mentioned that you're meant to take 2x the Blackmores Pregnancy Multivitamins each day (so the dose would actually be 1000mcg) as opposed to only 1x Elevit daily (800mcg)... maybe read the directions on the bottle and check whether they recommend 1x or 2x per day... or ask a pharmacist - they should know...

Hi all,

Thanks for all the responses and information, I feel relief.

Ella, you're right, need to take 2x blackmore's but each contains only 250mcg folic acid, so it's 500mcg for a day.

xo
tt

oh good, because after i wrote the above post i thought about the folate tablets i'm taking. they're 500mcg each, and i was wondering whether i was meant to be taking two of those as well!! but i'll stick to 1 tablet per day based on this!

I take elevit too, My Ob who also works at an IVF clinic (if that makes her more credible IDK)
but she said blackmores is not nearly good enough. (took it last PG) and suggested elevit for at least 3 mths before conception but it's expensive so I think just taking something is a bonus.

i wonder why all the docs love elevitt so much? maybe they get told to promote it?? :P
the blackmores has pretty much identical ingredients, except that it also has fish oil, DHA, and iodine whereas the elevitt doesn't. i really fail to see how it is considered 'superior' - it just has a teensy bit more folic acid that you dont need, and more iron that you wouldnt need unless you were iron deficient! LOL

exactly shannon.

i dont think elevitt is a 'scam' - but its certainly not 'superior' to an identical preg vitamin...i think its just being elevated into some fantastic status thats just not true.fletch your baby would have the best start with any/either of these supplements is all im saying. elevitt isnt some mysterious wonder drug yk? :) but if you are happy taking it, thats great. i have decided that the extra folate/iron is not needed for me and i prefer the extra things blackmores has in it for that same confidence.i even wondered about taking one brand one day, the other the next...but since researching the ingredients list will not bother unless i feel i need extra iron..

Don't worry about the different levels of folate in the 2 medications. 500 is the minimal recommended dose for pre conception, and pregnant women "without" a history of spina bifida.

I take elevit and an additional 5mg (5800mg in total) of folic acid every day due to Max having spina bifida, this was recommended by my Ob, GP, Pharmacist and genetic counsellor.

I have no idea why they recommend Elevit over the other types, but after Max having SB, I am quite happy to pay the additional money for a supplement that is so highly recommended. For the record I was taking blackmores pregnancy formula throughout Shelby's pregnancy (she has a sacral dimple, not sure if related) and never stopped it until after Max was born and I swapped it for elevit.

It may be coincidental but I am not willing to take a chance.

I've taken both of these. I used Blackmores while TTC then switched to Elevit while on IVF and during pg because I have problems with iron deficiency and it served me well right up until the last two months of pg.

I think if have another baby, I will do the same the next time. Any sort of pg multi is good though ... good insurance for those times when you might be feeling a bit off your food. At least you know you are getting a regular intake of the things you need.

Well, a little hint Elevit is promoted by drug companies to doctors and Blackmores is not.
Make of that as you will!!!! (she looks sceptical and dubious!!!)

I find I can't take Elevit - it increases constipation in me. I also take Megafol 5oo mgs due to recurrent miscarriage. It is quite safe to be on those levels as the other women mentioned it is excreted what isn't used by your body.

Another twist to this discussion...my OB highly recommends Fabfol! I think Deb is right though, Elevit has a good marketing campaign with OB's and even have good marketing in pg mags and the like.

I bought Elevit in bulk so cant use anything else unti I run out of Elevit which wont be for a little while.....