Mumsnet Talk

For the first 18 weeks I just took folic acid and thiamine, given to me in hospital from 7 weeks... I had awful hyperemesis at that point and had trouble keeping anything down and swallowing was an issue.
From 18 weeks I have taken pregnacare plus. I think the folic acid is very important in the early stages ( spina bifida/ cleft lip,palette) Vitamin d is very importants as rickets is on the increase. Non-preg vitamins have too much vit a. Personally I think it's just another marketing gimmick...to get us to spend more on vits. You can get the essential vits/minerals from your dr for free. A baby is like a parasite and will generally get what it needs from the host ( mum to be).

I really stressed about this as for some reason this pregnancy my gag reflex has been such that as I was vomiting as soon as I took my pregnancy multivitamins. Eventually I found some gummi multivitamins aimed at adults that contained folic acid and I can keep these down.
I've also had to take liquid paracetamol as I couldn't even swallow a broken tablet.

sunnysummer I was in the pregnacare camp - after eventually getting pg through ivf I was happy to take whatever was recommended to me - and I still ended up on iron tablets later on. evil things that make you so constipated.

Some cereals are fortified with vitamins including folic acid so that might be another way of making sure you're getting enough

I took folic acid till 12 weeks, vitD Galfer (a non constipating iron supplement). That's it. In my 1st preg I only took folic acid.

Also a note on iron - I had really good iron levels at the beginning of pregnancy, but by my 28 week test I was running low, despite eating a very balanced diet, as I was only taking the iodine and folate supplement and the baby takes a lot from you. Now I'm on extra iron tablets, horribly constipated, and wishing I'd just bucked up and taken a full pregnancy supplement from the beginning!

thanks yes I do love ovaltine so will try and have some each day as well as supplement. just checked neals yard multi and it has vitamin a in it. will probably buy santogen one instead. so confusing! i think I should have researched all this several weeks ago. praying it's all okay xx

A single mug of Ovaltine has 100% of the RDA Folic Acid in it, easy way to get it in your system

FA tablets make me very very nauseous (on top of normal pregnancy nausea this is) so I stopped taking them after a few weeks once had worked out it was those, and instead got my intake through food (foritified cereals especially) wish I'd known about the Ovaltine though!! Got a sample in my second Bounty bag and it said it on the front.

thanks very much, your messages have convinced me and I've just taken my folic acid. I had a bad experience with supplements some year's ago and since then I've been cautious. I really hope I haven't left it too late as I'm week 8. I'll carry on with the folic acid and try and order Neal's Yard multi this afternoon.

I think folic acid is only recommended for the first trimester (although some people will take it throughout in Pregnacare or whatever) so you only need take it for a few more weeks if you are reluctant. I don't see any downside to taking folic acid. I am more sceptical about other supplements, but I do think that intensive farming of fruit, veg and grains, and the strains of wheat commonly used now,means that many foodstuffs have fewer nutrients than they used to, so a multivit might not be a bad idea.

Folic acid and vit d are all that's recommended in uk. There is considerable evidence to support the use of both. I think it's pretty hard to get enough vitamin d through diet alone.

Please take folic acid. We lost our first baby, a wee girl, to anencephaly, because I was deficient in folic acid. I wouldn't want anyone else to go through that heartbreak if it could be avoided. I don't think any other supplement is essential, but folic acid can be the difference between life and death.

Obvs I mean can't understand why they would choose not to take it in pregnancy.

Agree with HP - I understand why people don't want to rely on supplements rather than a healthy diet in normal life, so to speak, but I can't understand why anyone would choose not to take folic acid. There is clear evidence of its benefits for the foetus. I am taking a multivitamin and omega 3 in this pregnancy as I did in my first one - I do try to get proper nutrients from my diet but it feels like a good back-up and I'd need to remember to take folic acid anyway. For me it's remembering that's the problem, maybe I should take some ginkgo biloba while I'm at it!

I was so nauseated that I was glad the baby was getting some vitamins & minerals as I could barely eat.

Suffer not sniffer!!??

I cannot understand why anyone would not take folic acid. It's dirt cheap or available on free prescription and has no adverse effects for you. Taking folic acid in the first trimester substantially reduces the risk of spina bifida. Yes, plenty of women will have healthy babies anyway but how are you going to feel if your baby has a problem you could have tried to prevent so easily.

Vit d has been shown to be too low in 25% of the uk population. Pregnancy and breastfeeding drops your levels too. It's you that sniffer with that one though, not the baby.

I do take a multivitamin and omega 3 but if you don't get on with them then don't bother. But please take the folic acid and vit d, there really isn't a downside.

I thought my diet was balanced and healthy - and then the nausea hit! I was grateful that hopefully at least some of the vitamins were able to pass into my bloodstream, and not get thrown up!
I'm not sure they are essential if you have a good diet - but its so hard to know if your diet is definitely good. I probably now take 1 every few days or so as I'm back to eating well, but it reassures me in case there's a gap that my food isn't providing...

Hi. I would really encourage you to take a multi vitamin. For all the people who have healthy babies and didn't take folic acid or vitamins there are those who have the very worst of outcome directly related to a deficiency in folic acid. A friend told me before her 12 week scan that she hasn't been taking folic acid or a multivitamin. To my shame I didn't press her on it as I figured it was her choice. The results of the 12 week scan were the very worst - baby didn't survive. The consultants opinion was a lack of folic acid.
This led me to do quite a bit of research in the area. If you're interested in the scientific evidence behind vitamins and their role in a healthy diet I'd point u to Patrick Holford Optimum Nutrition Bible.
If you're looking for natural check out neals yard, nutri or metabolics.

if you have a good well balanced diet with foods high in folate then you shouldn't worry too much. if you do go for a multi vit then make sure its a pregnancy friendly one,no vitamin A in it as excess vit A is bad for the baby!!
I'm just taking folic acid and vitamin D as that's what the nhs website recommended and I'm follow what they say girl Haha!!x

I guess it depends on how good the rest of your diet is? If you're all clued up, and have a balanced diet containing a wide range of fresh green and colourful veg, fruits, protein, fish, seeds, nuts and pulses, i can't see that your baby would be at a disadvantage

Thank you I think I'm worried about lack of folic acid in my diet but at the same time I'm concerned about creating deficiencies in other vitamins and minerals as just taking one vitamin seems a bit weighted. I also don't think anyone can tell how much we need of any one thing as we're all different and that's probably why we have an appetite and taste buds to tell us what minerals etc we need. I may carry on with folic acid as I feel like all the advice says to but would prefer it incorporated into natural supplement??

I didn't really take them. I wasn't trying to get pg so hadn't been taking them, and then I had hypermesis and didn't want to swallow pills, and then I sort of... forgot . DD is absolutely fine.

I can't imagine that they are essential, so it's not like you are actively damaging your baby by not taking them. Plenty of women won't take them. At the cost of Pregnacare, sure many women can't afford to take them?

What are you dubious about? Is it that you think they are a con?

Hi there,

I would be interested to know if anyone has got though pregnancy and produced a lovely little baby without supplements?
I am about 8 weeks and slightly dubious of supplements but really want to do the right thing and have started taking folic acid again. I have taken it on and off for the last few weeks and think I've just got to do it now as already 8 weeks.
I was also going to buy a multi-vitamin, can anyone recommend a natural one?
I keep worrying about this and sitting on the fence!!
Advice would be appreciated!!
xxx