• Careers
  • Education
  • Research
Ochsner Health Ochsner Health
  • About
  • Find A Doctor (current)
  • Find A Location
  • Specialties & Treatments
MyOchsner Logo
Login | Signup
Submit Search
Close Search
  •   Home
  • In To Your Health...
  • Food & Fitness
  • Conditions & Treatment
  • Health Trends
  • Prevention & Wellness
  • Women's Health
  • Men's Health
  • Mental Health
  • Parenting
  • I need to...
  • Find A Doctor
  • Find A Location
  • Find A Specialty
  • Schedule An Appointment
  • Pay A Bill
  • Explore
  • About Ochsner
  • Careers
  • Patients & Visitors
  • "To Your Health" Blog
  • Health Resources
  • Medical Professionals
  • Education
  • Philanthropy
  • Community Outreach
  • Research
  • Ochsner Health Network
  • Schedule an Appointment
  • Call: 1-866-624-7637
  • Online: Login to MyOchsner
  • Personalize your content
  • patient Edit Persona Persona Chooser
To Your Health

View Newsletter Editions
  • Food & Fitness
  • Conditions & Treatment
  • Health Trends
  • Prevention & Wellness
  • Women's Health
  • Men's Health
  • Mental Health
  • Parenting
Prenatal vitamins make me sick

Can Prenatal Vitamins Make You Sick?

Updated: May 18, 2020 | Originally Published: Aug 15, 2014 |
By Melissa Jordan, MD
Share Facebook Logo Twitter Logo Pinterest Logo Email Logo

Many women find prenatal vitamins hard to stomach, and I often have patients ask me if they have to take them. The short answer is, it depends.

The necessity of taking prenatal vitamins depends on your nutritional status at the beginning of pregnancy. Are you well nourished, malnourished or obese? In the U.S., if you are eating a normal healthy diet, vitamin and mineral supplements are probably not required. When there is a problem with inadequate sources of vitamins or minerals, the first solution is a healthy diet.

If you are planning to become pregnant, it is a great idea to schedule a pre-pregnancy visit with your obstetrician who will make sure that you are up to date with all vaccinations and check your blood count and iron level. If you meet certain criteria, it may also be advisable to check your glucose levels and your levels of vitamin D. By meeting with your doctor prior to conception, you will know your nutritional status and can start to make any necessary dietary adjustments to prepare for pregnancy.

Once you become pregnant, a prenatal vitamin can be a very important part of your healthcare routine. The two most important ingredients of the prenatal vitamin are folic acid and iron. Below I will explain what each of these vitamins is, why it’s important, and the suggested daily intake for expecting mothers.

Folic Acid

Some physicians advocate for preconception folate supplementation as a way to reduce birth defects and improve pregnancy outcome. Women who are planning to become pregnant should consider taking a multi-vitamin with at least 400 µg of folic acid daily for at least a month prior to conception. There are certain instances, such as a prior pregnancy with spina bifida, where 4000 µg (or 4 mg daily) is advised.

Since we know that nausea is very common in the first three months of pregnancy, make sure that your body is well supplied with both macro- and micronutrients prior to conception. This will help you to weather any temporary reductions in your food supplies.

Studies have shown that women who take a prenatal vitamin prior to conception have less nausea during pregnancy. If you are unable to take your prenatal vitamin in the first trimester due to nausea, your obstetrician may recommend that you switch to a folic acid supplement until your nausea improves.

Iron

Since you are building the blood volume of the fetus, you will need to provide about 1000 mg of iron to the fetal-placental unit over the 40 weeks of pregnancy. Much of this can be achieved with the correct diet, however, taking 30 mg of iron daily can be of great assistance.

For some people, iron causes significant GI issues such as nausea or constipation. If your blood count is low, I would encourage you to take the additional iron, drink plenty of fluids and use stool softeners to help decrease unwanted side effects. Some prenatal vitamins don’t contain iron, and you can take one of these until your nausea improves.

Other Crucial Vitamins

In addition to the folic acid and iron, it takes about 30 grams of calcium to build the fetal skeleton and most of this growth occurs during the last 10 weeks. Your diet and prenatal vitamin will certainly provide adequate reserves. Most women do get heartburn during their pregnancy. It is perfectly okay to use Tums or Rolaids and these antacids are loaded with calcium.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s website has great suggestions for food sources that have the needed vitamins, and features an interactive diet-planning program specifically for women who are pregnant or breastfeeding.

Having a baby? Our team has answers to your questions and more. Find an Ochsner OB-GYN today.

You may also be interested in:

491519003 Pregnant Woman Touching Belly
Prevention & Wellness
Jun 30, 2016

4 Pregnancy Symptoms You Haven’t Heard Of

Morning sickness is a telltale sign of pregnancy, but what about the lesser-known symptoms of pregnancy? What you can expect when you’re expecting.
Pregnant women sleeping
Women's Health
Sep 27, 2019

Best Sleeping Positions During Pregnancy

Doctors have updated their advice on sleep positions for expecting mothers.
Thinkstockphotos 479850602 Pregnancy Craving
Food & Fitness
Oct 16, 2020

Pregnancy Cravings: What Do They Mean?

We don’t know exactly what causes food cravings, but they may be related to hormones that are active in pregnancy.

Comments about the blog? Send us an email!

Ochsner Health Ochsner Health

Schedule An Appointment: 1-866-624-7637

Follow us: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Instagram YouTube Pinterest

Healthy living tips, delivered weekly to your inbox.

Patients & Visitors

  • Billing & Financial Services
  • Insurance Information
  • International Patients
  • Request Medical Records
  • Share Your Story
  • Read Patient Stories

Medical Professionals

  • Transfer a Patient
  • Refer a Patient

Health Resources

  • To Your Health Blog
  • Golden Opportunity
  • Hello Health Seminars
  • Ochsner Magazine

Job Seekers

  • Career Paths
  • Benefits
  • Open Positions

Employees

  • Webmail
  • OHSLink
  • Workday

Employers

  • Corporate Wellness
  • Medicare Advantage Plans

Community Outreach

  • Classes & Events
  • Programs
  • Community Health Needs Assessment
  • Dr. John Ochsner Discovery Health Sciences Academy

Education

  • Graduate Medical Education
  • Clinical Medical Education
  • Continuing Medical Education
  • Medical Library
  • Publishing Services
  • Medical Illustrations

Research

  • Clinical Trials
  • Applied Health Services Research
  • Clinical Research & Trials
  • Nursing Research
  • Translational Research

Giving

  • Donate
  • Volunteer

About Ochsner

  • Mission & Vision
  • History
  • Annual Report
  • Outcomes & Honors
  • News & Media
  • Alumni
  • Ochsner Health Network
  • Contact Us

Shop

  • O Bar
  • Optical Shop
  • Ochsner Fitness Center
  • Brent House Hotel

© Ochsner Health  | Notice of Privacy Practices | Terms of Use | Vendor Information

Ochsner accepts all major insurances.

Ochsner is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization, founded on providing the best patient care, research, and education.

We are one of the country’s largest non-university based academic medical centers.

Ochsner is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, disability or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.

Community Needs Health Assessment

EpicMobile Tablet | EpicMobile Phone

Healthy Living Tips, Delivered Right To Your Inbox

* indicates required


Must Reads
Food and Fitness
Men’s Health
Parenting
Women’s Health

Source:
Source Description:
Marketing Goal:


Get Weekly Health Tips

Select the weekly newsletters you'd like to receive.

Please select at least one category to continue.

Curious about our newsletters?

View details for each edition

Let us know where to send your weekly newsletters.

To Your Health- Food and Fitness:
To Your Health- General:
To Your Health- Men’s Health:
To Your Health- Parenting:
To Your Health- Women’s Health:

Source:
Source Description:
Marketing Goal:

You're all set!

We’ll send newsletters full of healthy living tips right to your inbox every week.

Ochsner Health System
ESC to Close

Begin Typing to Search

Select the drop-down to filter Search by Blog Articles or Sitewide