The Benefits Of Prenatal Vitamins Before Pregnancy
– feedmomandme

Written by: Co-Founder Maria Davi

Medically Reviewed by Dr. Nicole Palmer, DO

In This Article:

Congratulations, you are thinking about getting pregnant! Pregnancy is one of the most exciting times of your life, and you may be wonder, do prenatal vitamins help you get pregnant? However, the short answer is no; they help prevent pregnancy complications, such as low birth weight and premature birth. Ultimately helping you experience a healthy pregnancy and childbirth.

Prenatal multivitamins may not help your chances of getting pregnant, but they reduce your chances of birth defects. Their use significantly helps reduce the likelihood of neural tube defects, spina bifida and is associates with a lower risk of miscarriage. Think of them as an extra insurance policy with essential nutrients that help fill the nutritional gap of your daily food intake.

We recommend you add a prenatal multivitamin before getting pregnant. While doing this may not make you pregnant, it may help prepare your body to nourish your eggs and aid your uterus to be in optimal condition for implantation. Here are the benefits of taking prenatal vitamins before pregnancy.

★ WHEN SHOULD YOU START TAKING PRENATAL VITAMINS? AND WHY? 

When many think of prenatal vitamins, they think of a prescription prenatal being taken during pregnancy, not before pregnancy. However, as the word PRENATAL suggests, think of taking prenatal multivitamins before pregnancy. It’s a good idea to start taking prenatal vitamins at least three months before trying to conceive. It takes 90 days for an egg to develop before they are released fully. A well-nurtured egg is ideal before conception.

Before an egg reaches its full maturation, it takes a 90-day adventure, changing and preparing for ovulation. During this time, the egg is impacted by both healthy and unhealthy influences. Some factors affecting healthy eggs and ovaries are nutritional intake, stress, hormonal balance, and oxygen-rich blood flow.

As many have heard before, you are what you eat! Your nutritional intake can have a positive or negative impact on the health of your eggs and ovaries. The lack of nutrients like folic acid, selenium, and omega-3 fatty acids can negatively affect your reproductive system. Check out our, Feel Good Food For A Healthy Pregnancy Recipe Book for nutrient-rich recipes & nutrition guidelines to help with nutritional intake.

Stress can overall affect your health, including harming your developing egg. When you are continuously under stress, your body produces cortisol and other stress hormones, interfering with or preventing regular ovulation. Reducing your stress levels can help improve your egg health.

A women’s hormonal balance is critical for proper egg health. Factors like stress and food intake can cause hormonal imbalance, leading to a disruption in your fertility cycle and your egg health. Having a nourished endocrine system significantly influences a healthy egg’s hormonal balance and fertility cycle.

Ovaries thrive on oxygen-rich blood flow for healthy egg development. Research suggests that embryos have the highest implantation potential from oxygenated well-vascularized eggs and ovaries. Some ways to increase oxygen-rich blood flow to the ovaries are to drink at least 64 oz of water every day and exercise.

★ DO PRENATAL VITAMINS MAKE YOU FERTILE?

The short answer is no. Even though prenatal vitamins don’t make you fertile, prepping your body with prenatal vitamins to get pregnant is one of the best things you can do for yourself and your growing family. If you’re planning on getting pregnant, you should start taking a prenatal vitamin three months before conception. A developing baby strives off a well nourished body. 

Here are more advantages of taking prenatal vitamins before pregnancy.

★ REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD TAKE PRENATAL VITAMINS BEFORE TRYING TO CONCEIVE 

• As we mentioned before, healthy eggs are a vital fundamental to a healthy pregnancy. It is essential to nourish your body at least 90 days before your egg is fully developed and released from your ovary.
• Let’s be honest, eating all your recommended daily nutrients is extremely hard. That’s where a prenatal vitamin comes to save the day; it’s like a safety net to optimize your daily intake for pre-pregnancy nutrients.
• The nourishment you receive from taking prenatals before pregnancy may potentially prevent the risk of preterm birth.Research suggests women who take vitamins before conception reduced the risk of preterm birth by one-half!
• Prior to conception, taking prenatal vitamins has been clinically proven to reduce birth irregularities. These birth defects are neural tube defects, heart defects, limb deformities, and cleft palate. 
• From the moment of conception, folate is crucial for fetal development. Within the first month of pregnancy, the baby’s neural tube develops and is one of the most critical stages of fetal development. Having adequate consumption of folate will help your developing baby thrive. We use MTHR folate in our prenatal vitamins, which is the natural form of folate. Unlike the synthetic form, folic acid.
• Like folate, choline is vital for fetal development. Choline also helps prevent neural tube defects during early pregnancy. This building blocks nutrient helps your baby’s brain and spinal cord properly develop and helps form neurotransmitters in the brain.
• Vitamin D is significant during pregnancy. Some women, especially during the winter, don’t get enough to support their baby and themselves. Vitamin D is needed to keep your bones strong and to grow your baby’s bones. It is also linked to a lower risk of first trimester miscarriages.
• DHA is a type of omega-3 fatty acid that’s in many prenatal vitamins. Omega-3 fatty acids help improve egg quality, helps support an ideal level of reproductive hormones, and improve cervical mucus quality needed for the sperm to reach the egg. 
• Did you know that pregnant women need twice the amount of iron? Iron in prenatal vitamins helps your body produce hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen to your body’s organs and tissues.

★ BEST PRENATAL VITAMINS BEFORE PREGNANCY

We highly recommend you add a prenatal vitamin before pregnancy and each week of pregnancy. One of the best over-the-counter prenatal vitamins before pregnancy is Feed Mom & Me Complete Prenatal with DHA.

This prenatal is formulated by an OBGYN & Registered Dietitian, containing all the nutrients needed to conceive and during pregnancy. Each small and easy-to-swallow pill is packed with 22 key natural nutrients to provide nutritional support for you and your growing baby. It contains Folate (methylfolate form), DHA, Iron, Calcium, Choline, Biotin, Zinc, Magnesium, and Selenium.

The vegetarian formula is free of artificial colors or flavors, chemicals, preservatives, non-GMO, dairy, soy, or gluten-free. Each of their capsules contains B6, Organic Ginger, and Peppermint Powder, which can help alleviate morning sickness and nausea.

Adding to that, it is a women-owned company. Who better than a female would understand pregnancy!

Click here for more info on Feed Mom & Me Complete Prenatal with DHA, a great pre-pregnancy pill!

+SOURCES

• https://www. plannedparenthood.org/learn/pregnancy/pre-pregnancy-health/what-are-prenatal-vitamins
• https://academic.oup.com/humrep/article/21/4/1055/585607
• https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/insufficient-vitamin-d-linked-miscarriage-among-women-prior-pregnancy-loss
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15496541/
• https://www.jogc.com/article/S1701-2163(15)30230-9/fulltext
• https://natural-fertility-info.com/increase-egg-health
• https://feedmomandme.com/products/feel-good-food-for-a-healthy-pregnancy
• https://feedmomandme.com/products/complete-prenatal-vitamin-with-dha

Do Prenatal Vitamins Help You Get Pregnant?

Do Prenatal Vitamins Help You Get Pregnant? | Natalist

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Feb 10, 20 ●

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Will prenatal vitamins make you more likely to get pregnant? Find out by reading our detailed guide and get tips to improve your chances of conception naturally.  

By Dr. Liz Kane

Prenatal care is important when TTC, and one step is usually taking prenatal supplements. You’ve likely already heard a lot about prenatals, and that’s because taking a daily prenatal vitamin is so important for your already (or soon to be) developing baby. So you know that they’re good for you-but what goes in a prenatal vitamin? What exactly are their benefits? and do prenatal vitamins help you get pregnant or improve your chances?

What goes in a prenatal vitamin?

A prenatal supplement is recommended to almost every pregnant woman for many reasons, from increasing the chances of a healthy pregnancy to preventing complications. What exactly goes in prenatal supplements? Most high-quality prenatal multi-vitamins will include key nutrients and minerals such as folate, iron, calcium, vitamin D, DHA, and iodine.

• Folate: The CDC recommends folate specifically to women of reproductive age to prevent neural tube defects such as spina bifida.  
• Iron: Iron is important for making the extra red blood cells you’ll need for pregnancy and can decrease the chances of complications such as low birth weight and preterm delivery. You can find high purity iron in our prenatal vitamins, as well as our vegan iron supplements.
• Calcium: Calcium and vitamin D are helpful for building strong bones and teeth for you and your baby. 
• DHA: Finally, DHA is a building block of your baby’s developing nervous system.This omega-3 fatty acid can be found in fish and in omega-3 fortified foods like eggs and dairy.
• Choline: Most prenatals lack choline. But growing evidence of its benefits shows choline improves several pregnancy outcomes and protects against certain neural and metabolic disorders.

When you’re on your TTC journey, it’s important to consume enough of these nutrients to meet your recommended daily allowance (RDA). This ensures both mom and baby have what they need for a healthy pregnancy. Natalist’s prenatal supplements provide comprehensive prenatal nutrition that meets or exceeds ACOG’s recommendations for pregnancy. 

What impacts my fertility?

There are a lot of factors that contribute to your fertility. You and your partner’s age, medical history, and family history are top factors to consider when thinking about how long it will take you to get pregnant. For a healthy woman in her 20s or early 30s, the chance of conceiving each month is 25%-30%. 

Here are lifestyle factors you can control when trying to conceive: 

1. Eat healthily
2. Exercise regularly
3. Avoid alcohol or recreational drugs
4. Minimize stress
5. Limit caffeine use to one cup per day

Can prenatals increase my fertility?

Taking your prenatal vitamin won’t make you any more likely to get pregnant. This one is just a myth we’re happy to bust. 

Prenatal vitamins will, however, make it significantly more likely that you experience a healthy pregnancy. They significantly reduce the likelihood of neural tube defects. Their use is also associated with a lower risk of miscarriage. They are a key safety net in preventing pregnancy complications that result from nutrient deficits, such as low birth weight or premature birth. So, we recommend that you add prenatals into your TTC journey; these can include vitamins and fertility supplements such as iron, folate, or DHA supplements, but don’t expect them to be magic fertility pills.

The good, the bad, and the ugly

If you have decided to start taking a prenatal vitamin, there are some things you should know. We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: prenatals are great and super important for your health and the health of your baby. It’s been shown that taking prenatal vitamins can significantly reduce infant morbidity and mortality, and all the vitamins and minerals you’re taking are creating the brain, spinal cord, bones, and teeth of your mini-me. 

So, what could possibly be the bad or the ugly? It’s unlikely, but prenatals can also bring negative side effects such as constipation or nausea. If you’re worried about any negative effects, you can learn how to manage them here.  

Other ways to boost fertility

There is good news! About 90% of couples get pregnant within one year of trying, and you could very well be in that 90%. Although, if it’s taking longer than you’d like, or if you or your partner have a family history that could impact your chances of conceiving, there are specialists ready to help you on this journey. Check out our Q&A for some common questions about when to see a fertility specialist.

Helpful tips for improving your chances of conception:

• Figure out when your six-day fertile window is (more here), and have sex in this time period!
• Try to stay within an ideal weight for your height; you’ll have the best chance of conceiving if you’re not under or overweight.
• Regular exercise—not vigorous exercise—is a great way to prepare your body for pregnancy.
• Maintain a well-balanced diet.
• Use ovulation tests to find out when you’re the most fertile and likely to conceive.
• Use a TTC friendly lube.
• Refrain from substance use and abuse. It’s important to only be drinking caffeine in moderation, and it’s really important you cut out any alcohol, tobacco, or recreational drugs.

Now that you know all about the benefits of taking prenatal vitamins when trying to conceive, are you left wondering whether men should take a prenatal vitamin as well? We asked four healthcare providers—a reproductive endocrinologist, a urologist, a registered dietitian, and a naturopathic doctor—whether men should take a prenatal vitamin when trying to conceive. Read now for their advice!

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ways to help conceive and speed up pregnancy

After making the decision to have a baby, many couples expect to babysit him exactly nine months later. But the manifestation of zeal in the implementation of the plan does not always immediately turn into the fulfillment of a dream. Conception does not occur, and disappointment leads to relationship tension. Don’t be quick to blame each other. We have prepared several recommendations on how to get pregnant quickly and what to do for this. They will definitely increase your chances!

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With regular intercourse without contraception, pregnancy should occur within 12 months.

The process of fertilization is complex, and the probability of successful conception in one menstrual cycle does not exceed 25%. At the same time, partners must be young enough and not have health problems. As you can see, getting pregnant quickly the first time is very rare. For the desired moment to come, follow simple rules.

1. Take vitamins to get pregnant faster

Many girls are interested in what pills are available to get pregnant easily and quickly. Such drugs to stimulate conception are actually produced today. These are drugs with the active substance progesterone and hCG, as well as follicle-stimulating and luteinizing hormones. They can only be taken with a doctor’s prescription.

ADVERTISING – CONTINUED BELOW

Among the methods that help to get pregnant quickly, there is also the intake of vitamins, which contain both 100 and 160 or more percent of the daily norm of substances needed by the body. Surely you know that they are useful for pregnant women, but also for conception! Especially if your nutrition is far from ideal (and you may not know this at all). In addition, prenatal vitamins help improve the menstrual cycle (if conception took time). And thanks to folic acid, the unborn child will avoid a neural tube defect.

2. Track ovulation

Technically, a girl can quickly become pregnant both a couple of days after her period, as well as before and even with it. But most often this happens during ovulation, as well as a few days before it. Ovulation usually occurs around the 14th day of the cycle.

Getting pregnant quickly and effectively is real, even after the first time, as soon as you start tracking your cycle. So you will be convinced of the presence or absence of ovulation. With modern pharmacy tests, this is not difficult. Knowing special days and choosing the right day for sex is easier.

To quickly get pregnant for the first time, partners often make love as soon as they have a free moment. We have no doubt that this duty is not a burden to them, but the number of sexual acts affects sperm fertility. Doctors believe that 3-4 times a week is enough for the maximum number of active spermatozoa to be synthesized in the semen. With frequent contacts, it liquefies, and with too few contacts, it thickens. And with both options, you are not on the way.

3. Stop using lube to get pregnant

To get pregnant as soon as possible, stop using lube. Sometimes it reduces the speed of spermatozoa, which are in danger of not getting through the viscous substance. You should also avoid showering after sex, as it changes the pH balance in the vagina and affects sperm viability.

4. Reduce caffeine and alcohol intake

Even on forums, discussions about how to get pregnant quickly often come down to restrictions on this matter. Of course, during pregnancy you will have to reduce their consumption to almost zero, but you should start even before conception. Substances contained in coffee and wine can negatively affect the body and interfere with the “meeting” of the egg and sperm. It is advisable to drink no more than two cups of coffee a day and pay attention to the amount of soda, chocolate and caffeinated energy drinks in the composition. Alcohol can lower blood levels of estrogen.

5. To get pregnant quickly, do not exercise too much

Maintaining a normal weight and excellent physical shape is useful. But if you are looking for ways to get pregnant quickly, you should not train to overwork. If the body decides that there is not enough fat, it can go into energy saving mode and not allow pregnancy at such a difficult time. Switch to daily walks, swimming pool or light exercise.

6. Try not to worry

Often, girls on the same forums are looking for an answer to the question of which pills to start drinking in order to stop being nervous and get pregnant faster. But we insist on trying to tune in to the positive and switch to good emotions. Yes, no one likes such advice, but it is better to follow them if possible. Meditation, fresh air, good movies, favorite books, and other ways to calm down help reduce cortisol levels, which can affect ovulation. Your task is to tune in to the main thing and not be distracted by the secondary.

7. Quit smoking to speed up pregnancy

How can you want to get pregnant quickly if you can’t say goodbye to cigarettes! We believe that this is not easy, sometimes the help of professionals is needed to eradicate this bad habit. In any case, it is very useful both for you and for the unborn child. In addition, smoking is associated with an earlier onset of menopause and a rapid decrease in egg supply.

8. Get more sleep

To get pregnant faster, you take vitamins, practice the right postures, and count the days. And the body just does not have enough rest. Sleep disturbance can negatively affect ovulation. If your work interferes with sleep, try to change your schedule or at least sleep without interruption whenever possible. Do not drink coffee and do not watch TV at night so that your sleep is stronger and healthier.

In conclusion, we want to remind you of the obvious things that couples often forget due to excessive effort. No matter how much you try out the grandmother’s method with those herbal infusions and unravel the secrets of how to get pregnant quickly, it may be different. In the ability not to get hung up on the task at hand. Conception can be hindered by constant thoughts about it and stress from it. This condition activates the stress hormone, which you do not need at all. May such an important event in your life be accomplished with a good emotional mood.

Photo: Andrea Piacquadio, Anete Lusina: Pexels

Top 10 mistakes when trying to get pregnant

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There are times when doctors did not reveal any abnormalities in you and your partner, but the long-awaited pregnancy still does not occur. And it already seems to you that this is not a natural phenomenon, but the real magic of luck and genetics. For some, pregnancy happens “from the first time”, while others turn their lives into a real nightmare.
It’s all about making similar mistakes, we tell you about the most common of them.

Mistake #1⃣: Worrying too much

Chances are you have at least one friend who, after becoming pregnant, said, “It happened exactly at the moment when I stopped thinking about it. ” It’s annoying, frustrating, and nerve-wracking, especially when all you want to do is have a baby. Stress can be one of the main reasons you can’t get pregnant: high levels of the stress hormone cortisol can negatively impact fertility. Relax and try to let go of the situation for a while. Stop planning your pregnancy so much and remind yourself every day that this is a miracle that actually happens very, very often.
Mistake #2⃣: Doing Too Much/Little
If you’re going to do this, do it right! Many couples believe that if you “save” sperm and do not have sex for a week, then the chances of conception will increase significantly. This is wrong. After about a week of abstinence, sperm motility is markedly reduced. For successful conception, doctors recommend having sex every day or every other day for a week up to and including the day of ovulation. In addition, having regular sex has been proven to help regulate your cycle: your partner’s body releases hormones that affect your reproductive system, so having regular sex increases the production of estrogen.
Mistake #3⃣: Use questionable practices
It would seem that the 21st century is in the yard, but many women still continue to believe in the miraculous power of douching. Sperm in such an environment dies and cannot fertilize the egg, which is why many people use a weak solution of soda to make the environment alkaline and create favorable conditions for conception. But doctors are opposed to this method: soda kills not only harmful microorganisms, but also beneficial ones, thus violating the natural pH of the vagina.
Mistake #4⃣: Blaming Yourself
Speaking of infertility, we tend to think that the problem is on the part of the woman. But in fact, the responsibility lies equally on both partners. Doctors say that in 40% of cases of infertility, the cause must be sought on the part of the man, in another 40% – on the part of the woman. The remaining 20% ​​is compatibility, a combination of both partners. But do not panic ahead of time. Remember that it takes 6 months to a year for a healthy couple to successfully conceive.
Mistake #5⃣: Miscalculating
The most common mistake is the incorrect determination of the day of ovulation. Another common mistake is not counting the beginning of the cycle from the first day of menstruation. The first day of your period is when you bleed. Not the day before, not the day after. For successful conception, the bill goes literally to the clock, which is why it is so important to know the exact day the cycle began.
Mistake #6⃣: Living on a schedule
No matter how hard you try, pregnancy is impossible to plan. As mentioned above, it takes a healthy couple from 6 months to a year to conceive. But many women need half a year just to normalize their cycle after they stop taking contraceptives. Ovulation will not occur until the cycle becomes regular. Therefore, if after 6 months your cycle has not returned to normal or you are not sure that you are ovulating, it is worth visiting a doctor.
Mistake #7⃣: Hurry
No one knows why so many people are sarcastic about the statement that after intercourse it is advisable to lie on your back with your buttocks slightly raised for about 20 minutes. Doctors unanimously claim that this method increases the possibility of conception by as much as 80%! Therefore, if you want to dance a victory dance after a successful conception, as you think, refrain – at least for 20 minutes.
Mistake #8⃣: Ignoring your “crazy” worries
Maybe you have always had an irregular cycle and because of this you are having difficulty conceiving. Or perhaps you have diabetes and want to make sure everything is under control before you get pregnant. Consulting a specialist does not mean being paranoid! There are situations in which you should not ignore your worries: here you are thinking not only about yourself, but also about your unborn child. If you have any questions or worries, it is better to immediately find a specialist who will explain everything and tell you about the pitfalls that you may encounter specifically on your way. Thus, if you encounter difficulties in trying to get pregnant, you will already be ready for them.
Mistake #9⃣: Not giving up bad habits
A lot has already been said on this topic, but it will still not be superfluous to repeat: it is necessary to give up bad habits at least a year before trying to get pregnant.