TTC& Prenatal vitamins

[NotYourBabyMomma]

Hi all. (This is my first post here so I don’t understand all the cool abbreviations yet, lol).

Was looking to get advice from the GP but I’ve left it too late and have to wait till Monday.

Me and hubby are thinking about getting pregnant soon..we’ve been married for 4 years so it’s about time. I’ve just learnt that you are supposed to take 400mcg of folic acid 1-3 months before you get pregnant. And also, if you’re a fertile, sexually active woman you’re supposed to take this daily Incase you get accidentally pregnant?! I can’t believe we weren’t taught this as young women. Anyway, now that moan is over lol...I purchased a super expensive prenatal vitamin which contains DHA which is great..but I’ve looked at the ingredients and 1) it has 800mcg of folic acid and 2) 770mcg of vitamin A. It’s non refundable and I’m now highly unsure whether to take it or not as nhs web says no more than 400mcg of folic acid and advises against taking any vitamin a supplements.

I haven’t taken any yet but it has really good ingredients including the DHA which I wanted. It’s called Nature Made prenatal.

Can anyone advise if this would be ok for me to use? Since it was expensive and I don’t want to waste it, as well as it has vitamins in it that other cheap brands don’t have.

So sorry for the long post, thanks. Xx

[dementedpixie]

Its the beta carotene form of vitamin A which is the safe form to take during pregnancy.

[Apricotta]

"High‑dose folic acid supplements (5 mg/day) should be prescribed for women with diabetes who are planning a pregnancy from at least 3 months before conception until 12 weeks of gestation. This is because these women are at greater risk of having a baby with a neural tube defect. " NICE
"Adults need 200 micrograms of folate a day. A microgram is 1,000 times smaller than a milligram (mg). The word microgram is sometimes written with the Greek symbol μ followed by the letter g (μg)." NHS
If you're pregnant, trying for a baby or could get pregnant, it's recommended that you take a 400 microgram folic acid supplement daily until you're 12 weeks pregnant.
Some women have an increased risk of having a pregnancy affected by a neural tube defect and are advised to take a higher dose of 5mg of folic acid each day until they're 12 weeks pregnant.

This is important and unlikely to cause harm, as it's taken on a short-term basis, but speak to your doctor first. NHS

[Apricotta]

5mg is not 5 milligrams.

[dementedpixie]

5mg is 5 milligrams
5μg is 5 micrograms

[TheLovleyChebbyMcGee]

If it's a prenatal then it's going to be safe to take before you get pregnant

[HopelessatHousework]

I'm not sure of the official US guidelines but I do know there's more of a tendency there to look at between 400mcg-800mcg pre conception and in first three months (at least)

It's very usual for the more expensive prenatals to contain 800-1000mcg in my experience (often as methyfolate rather than folic acid).

I did quite a lot of reading up when I discovered mine did, as I'd also accidentally upped the dose in very early pregnancy. I was reassured that in some countries ie Malta the commercially available form is 5mg (ie 5000mcg!) and this dose is typically prescribed here for a variety of circumstances ie previous NTD, high BMI and certain medications.

I think there's a suspicion of risks to taking too much (which is more easily done in the US where many foods are fortified) although this is mainly hypothetical at this stage, and equally there's a lot of evidence that a lack of it causes significant concern. It's likely nutrients do have an impact on epigenetics (for good and bad) so my feeling is it's best to be judicious but I think it's unlikely that the levels in prenatals are of any concern and are probably beneficial. Folate is water soluble so it isn't stored on the body as such, but I think it's inaccurate to say that any excess is weed away to no ill effect as studies have indicated that high serum and red blood cell folate do have an impact on methylation etc (we just don't understand yet a lot about what it all means for the delicate balance of biochemistry!)

So in short I wouldn't worry about the folate preconception and in the first three months especially, but if it can be broken down and that makes you more comfortable that may be an option (just make sure you have a balanced diet to cover the other nutrients). I take Naturelo, and it's 800mcg over three tablets a day so I just take two most days and one some days rather than all three if that makes sense. I also take additional DHA and EPA separately.

Vit A will be beta carotene and not a worry in that quantity.

[Apricotta]

"A microgram is 1,000 times smaller than a milligram (mg). The word microgram is sometimes written with the Greek symbol μ followed by the letter g (μg)." NHS

[dementedpixie]

@ Apricotta That expressly says mg is milligram and microgram is μg

[NotYourBabyMomma]

@HopelessatHousework hi. Thanks for getting back to me! So you would/do take this prenatal or a similar one?

[NotYourBabyMomma]

@dementedpixie hi. Thanks for getting back to me! So this form of vitamin a will be alright for me to take? I didn’t know there were like different types lol.

[NotYourBabyMomma]

@HopelessatHousework you are right it says ‘Folate 1330mcg DFE (800mcg folic acid). And it also says ‘Vitamin A (as beta carotene) 770mcg’.

[NotYourBabyMomma]

It’s 1 horse pill sized tablet. I was thinking about cutting it in half to be safe and not loose my money but then I’d obviously be missing out on the other vitamins and minerals.

[dementedpixie]

I'd just use them as they are. They arent going to do any harm