Pregnancy is a hurricane of dos and don’ts. You become a master of what’s nutritious, and try to include lots of fruits and veggies. Doctors recommend you also take prenatal vitamins but with a busy routine it is possible to forget. You may find yourself saying ‘I can’t remember if I took my prenatal vitamin’.
I Can’t Remember if I Took My Prenatal Vitamin, Should I Worry?
Pregnancy already offers so many symptoms that are on the less glamorous side so taking double pills is thought to upset your gut making you more sensitive to nausea and constipation. So if you’re thinking ‘I can’t remember if I took my prenatal, should I take another?’ Doing it once or twice won’t hurt but don’t make it a habit!
Prenatal Vitamins
We live in a convenient world. The items we buy are to make life quicker and allow us to keep up with the pace of a life rich in technology. This is why you may find yourself thinking I can’t remember if I took my prenatal vitamin.
Taking your vitamins during pregnancy is not only for your baby but for you. Your little bean acts like a sponge soaking up all those nutrients, leaving you feeling sometimes fatigued and downright awful. Vitamins are like your body’s high, boosting you in all the right places.
What is The Makeup of Prenatal Meds?
The vitamins that are on offer to pregnant women can be a mind field, do you buy the most expensive brand? Or do you use the Target budget brand? What exactly are you looking for in a vitamin?
Every pill you take should offer the following:
- Folic acid/ folate
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin D
- Vitamin E
- Vitamin K
- Vitamin B12
- Iron
- Calcium
- Copper
- Zinc
- Magnesium
Looking at the convenience food we eat I think it’s safe to say that we can’t all eat a diet rich in all these vitamins, hence a supplement is needed to ensure you have a good balance of nutrients and minerals for you and your baby.
Starting Medication
Is there a general rule for when you should start taking your prenatal meds?
As soon as possible!
Generally the earlier you begin taking them the better. Each nutrient you put into your body will only help you and your baby.
Many doctors sometimes suggest taking prenatal supplements even before conception. This is to build your levels before you have a little bean soaking it all up.
Folic acid is super important for the early development of your baby so starting as soon as you find out your pregnancy is important.
You could also be advised to continue your meds through your breastfeeding journey, what you put into your body will benefit your baby when feeding!
Can I Eat Flan While Pregnant?
Hmm! The short answer is yes, eating Flan while being pregnant is fine, as long as it is cooked properly. The Flan should be baked for a certain amount of time and temperature.
Flan is a type of baked custard. It has a ton of nutritious ingredients in it. However, it can sometimes pose a threat if the flan ingredients are not cooked properly. This is the reason behind the assumption that Flan can not be eaten by pregnant women.
Benefits
So we know what to look out for in a prenatal vitamin but why? What benefits do each of the ingredients give us?
Looking at the most essential vitamins, you should be taking supplements rich in Folic Acid, Iron, and Vitamin D. These are essential to those early building blocks to your baby’s development, and with our lifestyles becoming more convenient with easy meals it’s difficult to ensure we maintain enough to consider it a healthy balance.
‣ Folic acid/ folate
Eating foods rich in folic acid and supplementing your intake is so important. Folic acid is known to help reduce the chances of your baby developing neural tube defects such as Spina Bifida and Anencephaly.
Eating foods rich in this supplement is not enough whilst pregnant hence the importance of taking a higher dose found in these meds.
‣ Iron
During both my first pregnancy my Iron levels were great yet the massive bleed after my daughter’s birth left me severely anaemic. Let me be the one to say I felt rotten! I immediately needed an IV to replace the iron my body lost.
This made my doctor cautious during my second pregnancy and again I developed anemia for a second time but this was during my pregnancy I was prescribed an extra course of meds to take alongside my vitamins.
Taking Iron vitamins can prevent premature birth and mortality rates so I don’t need to explain the importance of why this is so important.
‣ Vitamin D
This Vitamin is essential for maintaining calcium which promotes bone development. Taking a supplement rich in vitamin D will help minimize the risk of rickets and other abnormal bone growth.
‣ Other nutrients
The other nutrients and vitamins help promote overall health in you and your baby during pregnancy and afterward.
They will all support good brain growth and organ development. After all you are making a new life so boosting this goodness will only benefit surely?
Side Effects of Prenatal Vitamins
Life cannot be simple, you may face side effects whilst upping your dose of vitamins.
I’m sure you will agree that the benefits of taking pregnancy vitamins will always outweigh the risks associated with vitamin deficiency therefore if you notice any side effects consult your doctor for help and advice.
Do not stop taking your supplements. Doing this puts you and your baby at risk!
It is important to take your medication as directed on the packaging to help prevent side effects from disrupting your daily life.
However, I am not naïve to consider that from time to time you may forget or your pregnancy brain fog can leave you questioning, ‘did I take my pill?’
Do I Double My Dose?
With all this information proving how great and important your meds are, what happens if you miss a pill? Should you double your dose?
Thankfully taking two doses in one day isn’t cause for concern. Your baby won’t be affected however doing this on a regular basis can cause havoc on your body.
Your stomach can become super sensitive and give you further issues such as nausea and constipation which I’m sure you could already be getting your fair share with regency symptoms alone!
Bineesh Moyeed, A reputed doctor of pharmacy reports that typically doubling the odd dose isn’t thought to be harmful as your baby is getting the correct amount of folic acid but making a habit of missing doses can hinder your baby’s development.
Ways To Remember Your Prenatal Vitamin
So what tips are there to encourage this new routine into an already busy schedule?
- Pill box – Decant your vitamins in to a pill box so you can clearly see if you have missed a dose.
- Place your vitamins in a visible area – I placed mine in the bathroom so whenever I went to the bathroom I made sure I took my med after my first morning wee. Obviously using a pill box alongside this helped me remember whether I had taken my pill for the day.
- Add it in to meal times – Eating a healthy balanced diet is key especially during pregnancy so adding your med in at meal times will remind you of all the goodness it holds.
Wrapping Up
‘I can’t remember if I took my prenatal, should I take another?’
The golden answer to this question is variable depending on how many times you miss a dose. If it’s the odd day or taking two doses mistakenly in one day then the consensus is you and your baby will be totally fine but it is important not to make it a habit.
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