What exactly are prenatal vitamins? These are vitamin supplements intended to be taken before and during pregnancy and during postnatal lactation. Although not intended to replace a healthy diet, prenatal vitamins provide women of child bearing age with nutrients recognized by the various health organizations as helpful to for a healthy pregnancy outcome.

It is actually similar to other multivitamins, but do contain different amounts of specific nutrients to better suit the needs of an expecting mother. Vitamins such as folic acid, calcium and iron are in higher concentrations while nutrients such as Vitamin A are reduced to reflect the current understanding of the role that these compounds play in fetal development.

If you’d ask, are all prenatal supplements the same? Well, the answer is not. And why do pregnant women need high levels of folic acid, iron, and calcium? The answer is simple. Taking folic acid can reduce their risk of having a baby with a serious birth defect of the brain and spinal cord, called the “neural tube”.

Well, when I got pregnant in the year 2007, my OB-gyne prescribed me with prenatal vitamins. She explained to me clearly that drinking this type of vitamins will give me crucial nutrients that most food can’t give my body. So if you too who are pregnant, you better pay a visit to your ob-gyne and ask questions about prenatal vitamins.