Is Your Prenatal Good Enough?
A recent study by Sauder, et al. (2023), would suggest that it's not.
70% of pregnant women use dietary supplements, but many are still at risk of inadequate intake of key nutrients due to a combination of poor dietary intake & suboptimal supplementation.
They analyzed 21 prenatal dietary supplements available in the US market to determine their dosing of 6 key nutrients: folic acid, iron, calcium, vitamin D, vitamin B6, and iodine.
Most supplements met the recommended dosing for folic acid, iron, and calcium. However, only half met the recommended dosing for vitamin D, and less than a third met the recommended dosing for vitamin B6 and iodine.
It's important to note that these 6 key nutrients play a vital role in supporting fetal development and healthy pregnancy. To ensure that you and your baby are getting the nutrition you need, it's important to choose a prenatal dietary supplement with appropriate dosing for all 6 key nutrients.
Here are the Recommended Daily Allowances (RDA) of 6 key nutrients for pregnant women:
Folic acid: 600-800 micrograms per day to prevent birth defects of the brain and spine.
Calcium: 1000-1300 milligrams per day to support fetal bone development.
Vitamin B6: 1.9 milligrams per day to support the formation of red blood cells and the baby's brain development.
Iodine: 220-290 micrograms per day to support fetal brain and nervous system development.
Iron: 27 milligrams per day to support the increased blood volume and prevent anemia.
Vitamin D: 600-800 International Units (IU) per day to support fetal bone development and the mother's immune system.
It's also important to note that these recommended doses may not be enough if you're deficient in certain minerals or vitamins. The ones I consistently test for (via blood work) and monitor are iron, vitamin D and B12.
Talk to your healthcare provider to ensure you're meeting the nutritional requirements for you and baby.