13 weeks pregnant, do I get free vitamins, lotions etc?

[Shasha123]

I am 13 weeks pregnant and my husband suggested me to have floride, vitamin D and calcium. Also I want to buy some body lotion for future bumps.
I have received Maternity Exemption Certificate, which is a small ID card from NHS. Do you think I can get free vitamins, lotion, etc using this card? Or is it just for prescription?

Body lotion and vitamins are very cheap in Poundland and Lidl.

Jeez I think some folk are being quite harsh on the OP. When it's your first you don't know what you're entitled to - I remember being pretty shocked that not only did I get free dental while I was pregnant but for a year afterwards? I don't think its out with the bounds of reality you might be entitled to free vitamins etc. Maybe not lotions because that's not beneficial to the baby but the mother but I don't think there's a need to be rude to the op.

Some people find it mind-blowing that anyone would even entertain the expectation of state-funded body lotion due to having a bump.

Yeah by all means be surprised but there's no need to belittle someone for asking the question...

www.healthystart.nhs.uk/healthy-start-vouchers/do-i-qualify/ - you need to qualify to get healthy start vouchers/free vitamins (according to the website)

It must be where you live - I got bugger all free when I was pregnant (obviously I could have had free prescriptions but you can't take 99% of prescription drugs!)

OP please tell me you are joking? You buy your own vitamins, lotions etc, the exemption certificate is for medicines prescribed by a doctor.

We don't qualify for the healthy start vouchers & this wasn't discussed by the midwife. I was just given the vitamins, toothbrushes, toothpaste, booklets/DVD's, Bounty pack with a voucher to get a free sample pack from boots etc. we don't qualify for any benefits or extra help. I'm in Glasgow. Don't live in a deprived area of the city etc. When she came out with toothbrushes I kinda laughed, Midwife said everyone gets the same no matter what. My friends/colleagues pregnant recently/now have all had same given at booking appointment

Maybe it's a Scottish thing? The health services are separate

I got the healthy start vitamins, even though I told her I already had some. Vair middle class health centre North of Glasgow

I filled out mine today, quite fancy a nice pregnancy massage or a foot rub, will the NHS pay?

Sign up for Bounty and Emma's Diary - you'll get a ton of free samples (and junk mail)!

surely your midwife discussed this at your booking in appointment though, as the most important supplement to take is folic acid in the first 12 weeks. Have you been taking that?

Hi everyone, thank you all for your replies. I'm not trying to 'scrounge' I'm just trying to learn a bit more about the extent of the available benefits to help me through my pregnancy. I am not a native English speaker so I couldn't catch all of the midwife's explanations. Rather than cause more strains to the NHS with a call to the midwife's pager number with this question, I asked you kind people. Now I understand, so thank you again.

Most doctors will prescribe folic acid on prescription if you ask, and depending on area, you (and your baby once it's born) are able to get free vitamin D (it's certainly offered here in SE London).

I would not say that vitamin supplements for pregnant women (or children) were a frivolity. Presumably the reason the NHS gives them out free is because they improve public health. It is in everyone's interests that pregnant women take the right vitamins at the right time, as it will reduce conditions like spina bifida and vitamin D deficiency in babies during their first months. That will save the NHS money in the long term.
The welfare state has given out vitamins to pregnant mums and children from its earliest days, presumably for that very reason. It's not a new thing.