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Still doing my research before TTC, and I'm just curious about pre-pregnancy vitamins. How many of you took them, and did you feel they worked? Are these vitamins something that are considered essential, or is that just what the advertising industry wants me to think? :) I have just seen the price of them and am wondering if they really work or if I'm better off putting my energies into just eating well.
Feel like a bit of a noob asking this but really have no idea.
i am of the "they can't hurt" way of thinking...
Plus, you gotta take them eventually anyway so you may as well get into the habit now ;)
I started taking them months before ttc & I'm on them now & will stay on them while I breastfeed.
Blackmores preg & breastfeeding gold, was on elevit but it doesn't contain iodine so I switched.
I swear being on them helped me with my cold recently hubby had it and gave it to me, he still has it after 5 weeks, my cold lasted 2 weeks!
Can't hurt to start taking them now.
I also took vitex prior to falling preg this time & it was great for my cycles.
both of my kids were surprises, so i certainly didn't take any pre-pregnancy vitamins, and even when i was pregnant, the pregnancy vitamins make me spew constantly :rolleyes:, so i didn't really bother after a couple of weeks. both babies are completely healthy, but hey, it can't hurt if you want to take them!
I didn't even know about pre preg vitamins lol.
I started taking them when I fell but I am of the opinion that a good balanced diet more than makes up for them.
Folic acid is one i think is important. Taking it reduces the chance of bub having spina bifida or another spinal cord issue. It is included in the pre pregnancy multivitamins OR you can buy it singularly from the chemist. I think i paid around $5 for 100 tablets and took one tablet each day.
I tried the Blackmores ones but they made me sick so swapped to elevit. I have been on elevit now for a couple of months and all my tests have come back fine (not actually pg yet tho lol)
Yeah, I noticed the Blackmores conception vitamins are $40 for what looks like a months supply, I was like, dayum........:
You don't have to take a multivitamin if you don't want to if your diet is healthy etc but I would take a folic acid supplement. It can take a while to build up in your body apparently and is very important in pregnancy.
my doc told me to start taking elevit 3 months in advance.. elevit is the most expensive brand on the market and to be honest at the time i believed that they recieved some sort of benefit for the sale of elevit. however, my gyno also told me to start elevit as soon as you start ttc so i decided to take there advice. i have been ttc for 7 months now after m/c... and been on elevit for 3 months. its $70 for 100 tablets but i feel as though it cant hurt to have a storage of vitamins in your body as soon as you concieve. i also have a healthy diet, however, you need excess of these vitamins which we simply cant get from our food alone.
I just bought some Blackmores "Folate pre-conception" vitamins from the supermarket. 90 tablets for $7.95. One a day, that's about $2.75 p/month?
I took Elevit with Charlotte - but then it was only for the first trimester and then while BF, not the whole pregnancy.
This time round, I started taking Elevit again when I found I was pregnant but was surprised to find they now say you should take it throughout pregnancy and while BF, so will take it as directed. Although having said that, I don't freak if I miss a day.
Charlotte was a surprise, so no option and this one was planned but we weren't actively trying at the time I conceived so wasn't taking anything - honestly though, I wouldn't take anything extra while TTC anyway.
I went to the doctor when DH and I decided it was time to TTC. She prescribed folic acid and said I didn't have to worry about other vitamins (perhaps depends on your diet though). $3 for 90 tablets seemed like a good price to me, so that's what I went with.
I take a multivitamin which I find much better than the elevit (the most common pregnancy vitamin) having said that I did take elevit for around 6 months (a few months before being UTD and during the 1st few months of the pg) now I am back to my regular multi. I also take iron and extra vit C & zinc and sometimes magnesium and calcium plus I try to have Omega 3 every day. I've been doing this for years before getting pregnant and i notice the difference when I don't have them.
I took a regular multivitamin- much cheaper than the "pregnancy" ones and still contained folate and iodine which are important to boost pre-pregnancy. As soon as I conceived I stopped taking it and switched to a pregnancy multi.
Thanks guys, this is great advice! I hadn't seen the folic acid tablets coz I was so busy looking for the pre-conception stuff, lol. So I will get those next time I'm at the chemist or supermarket.
I am about to start to TTC and am on a few supplements as well as being on the fertility diet. Beinga naturopath i learnt how they help and even thou they may not make u feel like they are doing anything i have been told that ur baby will be healthier and perhaps have less predisposition to allergies... i guess i will see for myself once i conceive.
I'm taking prenatals now, as they have the vitamins needed for pregnancy - thus can prepare my body for GETTING pg too.. But you do have to make sure that the vitamins you choose are going to be easy for your body to use. Tablets sometimes are not digested if your body isn't in peak condition... I'm on a loosely formed tablet that disolves easily. Chewables and gummies might be good too, as long as they have the vitamin and mineral levels you need. ;)
Heck, a friend of mine is taking two Flintstones daily for her pregnancy as she can't swallow the big tablets - and that's per her OB/GYN! :lol:
Thats true about absorbing them. all these books i am reading are talking about digestion being really important for pregnancy.
I saw a naturopath when I had been TTC for 6 months. She suggested I get specific tests from the GP and it turns out I had deficient iron stores and vitamin D - these things can impact on fertility. She put me on a load of exxy suppliments and told me maximum effect won't happen until I'd been taking them for 3 months. It was also my naturopath who quickly identified that I probably had a thyroid problem which can also impact on fertility. My FS tested me and sure enough I had one.
It turned out that I needed IVF and I fell on my first cycle. I believe the naturopathic supplements combined with acupuncture led to the BFP on my first cycle. I truly believe that my naturopath shortened what could have been a much longer process. There is a lot of research showing the value of preconception care. Whilst it is exxy, if you find that you are TTC for longer than you hope it would be worth investing in some type of supplements. Hopefully it will be quick and easy for you and you won't need to do too much research
Folate is essential for me, as my grandmother lost a baby boy due to neural tube problems, so I take the 5mg dose, DH did as well while we were TTC, as his levels needed to be higher too. I don't believe I get enough vitamins and minerals from food, as farming practices have changed a lot so sometimes the food doesn't have the same amount of time to soak up minerals when farmers use quick grow fertiliser and things like that (this is just from reading a couple of books on the subject, not any extensive research, but it made sense to me so I'm sticking to it! Lol!). DH and I used natures own preconception packs, and MACA and folate. When I got UTD I brought a bulk pack of pharmacy brand pregnancy tablets for $15 (pack of 300), they contain iodine and fish oil and the non-scary vitamin A plus a bunch of other stuff. The book "what to expect" has a good rundown of what a decent pregnancy and conception tablet should have. I was SO relieved to be taking them when MS kicked in, cos there was 6 weeks when I lived on peanut butter sandwiches on white bread!
I am a naturopath and no matter how much study and books i have read and keep reading. its all becoming so much more *realler* hearing everyones experiences and now my own. I think testing supplements is important but also.. a healthy diet. am loving learning from all of your first hand experiences. cant wait TTC in December! *happy dance*