So, um, I lied to the midwife...

[FoylesForBooks]

Am 20 weeks. Had scan last week and all fine. At appt today she asked if I was taking folic acid and Vit D. I said yes. In fact haven't had folic acid since week 12 (thought you didn"t need to after that) and not had Vit D at all - didn't want to tell truth and have 'irresponsible mother' scrawled all over my notes. Should I have told truth - would my care or that of the baby be different at all if they knew truth?

There was no reason to lie really. Your MW is there to care for you and your babies health. Saying "no I wasn't aware I needed to past 12 weeks" wouldn't have been acceptable and more sensible, seems like a silly lie really.
And no such thing would have been in your notes some people need to take folic acid longer due to past issues or weight issues etc.

Not everyone takes vitamins during pregnancy.

I thought you didnt need to take folic acid after 12 weeks either.

I took a pregnancy multivitamin all through pregnancy but there is no difference between my chair and other children whos mums didnt take any vitamins.

The NHS recommend that you take vitamin D and folic acid in pg, but the latter is only till 12 weeks.
I swear by vitamin D personally, I think many of us in UK don't get enough naturally.

Child*

Not sure why you lied?

Accurate information is what allows HCP make informed decisions with you.
It is entirely up to you what you tell them, but, again, why lie?

No, it won't make any difference to your care.

I wouldn't panic too much, but I would start taking vit D as that is recommended throughout pregnancy and ensures baby has a good stock when they are born. I don't think folic acid does much after 12 weeks as spine is already formed. I take a cheapo supermarket preggo vitamin

Tell the truth. You might miss out on care your baby needs.

lied because it just kind of popped out and then would have been too embarrassing a few minutes later to say "er, actually, I didn't tell the truth a few mins ago..."

Honestly? Your really over thinking it!
Miss out on care? It's a bloody vitamin tablet not surgery...

Get yourself some vitamins...!

. I said MIGHT. When I had my children vitamin D wasn't mentioned so I wasn't going to pretend I knew whether it was very important or not.

I wouldn't worry about it too much - in these situations I remind myself that women have been having perfectly healthy babies for billenia without all the fuss and worry we tie ourselves up in knots about these days. Your baby will be fine. Best wishes for your pregnancy.

Are you going to buy some more and take it?

The consultant today looked stunned when I said no to taking vitamin D at 32 weeks. I'm taking iron though because my levels are low and it makes me feel crap

When I was pregnant I found no studies which showed any benefit to taking folic acid post 12 weeks. I think there is quite good evidence for vitamin D during pregnancy and breastfeeding though so maybe start taking that. I wouldn't worry though.

Folic acid not necessary after 12 weeks (in fact, I read something about it not being great to take it beyond 1st trimester, although will need to find the link to double-check that).

Vit D you should take. Being pregnant depletes it in a big way and vit D deficiency can lead to you feeling really knackered and wiped out, a bit like feeling anaemic.

No need for folic acid after 12 weeks as the neural tube is already closed. I'd start the vitamin D now as pregnany and breastfeeding robs you of your vitamin D stores and can lead to bone problems for you in later life.

I stopped taking folic acid at 12 weeks both times.
I tried to take pregnancy vitamins but tbh they wreaked havoc with my stomach and made me ill so I stopped until 36 weeks when my iron levels came back a little low so I started again to make sure I was fit for labour and birth (they wouldn't allow me a home birth if my iron levels were too low).
I didn't know I was meant to take vitimin d though so never really bothered.

I took both at the beginning, but vit d gave me the shakes (my hands would convulse) so I stopped taking it! Maybe I should start again with it....

I stopped taking folic acid after 12 wks because the midwife told me to. She also told me to take vitamin D. Really, unless someone tells you, how would you know? I cantt take pregnancy vitamins as get constituted with them but have just had to start iron at 32 wks so expect it will happen anyway.

Id get some vitamin D and start now.

Why not just go to boots and ask them for a decent multivitamin for pregnant women, and take that?

Really not sure why you would lie about something like this though??? It's pointless!!! The only potential fallout would be that if you started having signs of anaemia they might want to know how much iron you have been taking.

join the boots parenting club and you get free vitamins. I also took cheap vit D. But not with previous pgs as I didn't know about it!