AIBU to not understand why pregnancy supplements are necessary?

[Butterworthbees]

I have never in my life taken supplements for anything and the concept is a bit odd (surely you can get everything you need from food if you eat healthily?) but ttc now and people are telling me I need to take supplements (especially folic acid). Maybe I'm being a tad cynical but doesn't it just give you expensive wee if you are eating a healthy diet! (Obviously supplements are important if you are actually deficient)

I know folate/folic acid is important for prevent NTD but can't you genuinely get enough from food?

I fell just within 'normal' range for iron levels during pregnancy, but felt ill and totally exhausted. It turns out that I cannot tolerate having the lower amount of iron, despite never being anaemic when not pregnant. Apparently there's something funny about my haemoglobin, that has no effect on me when I'm not pregnant. Iron supplements had an amazing effect. So much so that I did not wait to feel ill in subsequent pregnancies, but started iron supplements as soon as I got the blue line.

My cousin and his wife had their first pregnancy 16 years ago before folic acid was recommended when starting TTC (and certainly for pregnancy)

They had to TFMR at 22 weeks due to a fatal neural tube defect discovered at the 20 week scan

She took folic acid for three subsequent pregnancies and has three beautiful children

I am personally on prescription strength folic acid because I'm epileptic and they affect folate absorption, so increase the risk of neural tube defects. I was told not to start TTC until I had 3 months of the 5mg pills under my belt. (Turns out I needed IVF so wasn't going to instantly fall pregnant, but we didn't know that at the time)

And agree with pp about folate rather than folic acid if you have a MTHFR gene issue (which in my head is the mother fucker gene)

However it's more common NOT to have this issue than it is to have it, hence the advice for basic folic acid you can buy for a couple of quid from boots for the majority of people

You can get folate from food and in fact it's better in its natural from tan from a synthetic supplement

Surely it is just a chemical which is therefore the same whether it's in food or a supplement

I had to take the higher dose folate in pregnancy due to health issues, and I took a general pregnancy multivitamin as well. I'm glad I did as I've subsequently discovered I have a vitamin D deficiency and don't process it properly from sunlight and am now on supplements for life, but that multivitamin kept my babies healthy.

Also I spent s good chunk of my pregnancies living on fats and proteins due to problems keeping my blood sugars under control in the first trimester and another good chunk living on tap water because everything else got chucked up, so it seemed sensible really.

That's not always the case, kitkat. I don't know about folate specifically, but certainly with minerals such as iron and calcium the type you take can have a huge difference. It's called 'bio-availability'. Eg calcium carbonate or ferrous sulphate, the cheapest calcium and iron supplements, have very poor bio-availability and your body may only absorb about 10% of the dose you take, whereas the calcium in sardines with the bones and the iron in red meat are highly bio-available and your body will absorb virtually all the calcium and iron in them (unless you have a metabolic disorder). This is why you are advised to have fruit or juice with a vegetarian meal, as the iron in vegetables is less bio-available than the iron in red meat, but vitamin c increases the amount your body absorbs.

Folic acid reduces the risk of spina bifida doesn't it?

You don't know how you'll feel when you're pg. You might not be able to stomach much at all.

FYI where I am everyone takes iron supplements as a preventative measure when pg.

I don't see why you wouldn't help your body out.

Well it helps the neurotube to develop yes there is 4 types of spina bifida with degrees of severity and symptoms

I work with neurologists. They are very clear that all women of child bearing age whether they are planning a pregnancy or not should take a folic acid supplement daily. Lots of pregnancies are unplanned and by the time you know it's probably too late.

I am not planning any more pregnancies but it will take my folic acid till menopause just in case.

Take vitamin D3 (get the straight up form from a health food shop) and folic acid now, and keep taking it at least until you give birth. I'm another for getting nutrients from diet, but these two are justified. Vit D3 is also important whilst breastfeeding and for under 5s. In our household we all take it from Oct-April.

If you start a supplement, make sure it is one for ttc / pregnancy and not a generic multivitamin that contains Vitamin A - not supposed to take that when pregnant.

Own brand pregnancy multivitamins (Boots, supermarkets maybe?) will be just the same as the more expensive branded ones. Look out for 3 for 2s too.

As someone who has just lost a baby at 23 weeks due to severe spina bifida, you should take the folic acid at the very least (I was taking the regular dose of 400mcg). Neural tube defects occur between 6-8 weeks gestation. If I chose to have further children I will need further high doses of folic acid for at least three months before I even consider conceiving. Believe me, the heartache is unbearable so I would take the vitamins.

Also my morning sickness was horrific and sometimes the vitamins were all I could manage.

I'm currently pregnant with twins (early days) and have to take over twice the recommended standard dose of folic acid due to there being two growing foetuses in there- there is no way I'd be able to fit enough folate rich food in my stomach to meet that requirement! I get so full so quick due to having 2 in there.

bluebelle im so sorry about your baby

If nothing else, folic acid and vitamin D. I'm quite surprised that as you are actively TTC that you don't already know how important folic acid is. You would need to eat huge amounts to get the RDA of folic acid.

I take Pregnacare Original, which isn't expensive and is well worth it for peace of mind. Before falling pregnant, I was taking Seven Seas pre-conception vits.

marsquared

Some people cannot metabolise synthetic supplements and need to take them in the active form. Synthetic supplements are transformed into the active form by the liver but those, whose bodies are not working optimally will just literally pee them out unprocessed. These people need to take the supplements in the active form so for folic acid, that would be 5MTHF. It is best to take vitamin d as vit D3. As far as I'm aware, it is not possible to determine if we are absorbing the vitamins from a simple blood test as this denotes serum levels not absorption rates.

These active supplements are far more expensive as the quality and potency is far superior and are not mass produced. I can't take any of the cheap vitamins and have to take the active form of any supplement I need. I hope that helps.

Some other posters have explained it better than I can kit Kat. It's quite a shock to have religiously taken a supplement on advice to find out it wasn't what was best for your baby.

Jannec, maybe you know this already, but for a relatively small cost (about £120) people can find out their MTHR status -and the best forms of supplements for their particular genetic profile. I had no idea I had an issue with synthetic folic acid, or processing of vit D and B12 until I did the 23andme genetic test for fun/family history reasons.

Fairly shocking to find, actually a LOT of people have these issues and are much more at risk from the modern processed diet (much less vitamins and mineral in it than a more "natural" diet).

Imo, 23andme (and the programs you can use to analyse your raw data), is amazing value and also very interesting! :)

Thanks Janecc. I have since had genetic testing and have a gene mutation related to MTHFR. It's more common than you would think.

No I didn't. Thanks for the info. Not intending on having any children but may be helpful for me in terms of my quest to find my way back to health - I have chronic fatigue sundrome (ME). I have issues with B6/12/vit d. It's a common CFS symptom. I get my B12/ B6 (I use p5p) online from Epigenetics btw but will get b12 injections when my body can take it. D3 from Nutri. I think this could be extremely useful to me for absorption info.