I hardly take my prenatals

[AlwaysBelieve19]

I forget to take my prenatals is that bad

[Reader1984]

Set an alarm on your phone.

[Juno231]

Yes it's bad as it can cause deformities and illnesses such as spina bifida. People don't take them for fun. Put an alarm on your phone!

[Cuwins]

I have a pill box (kind of thing an old person would have!) with the days of the week on that I refill every week to ensure I know when I have taken my vitamins and also my anxiety meds as otherwise I get to the end of the evening and think have I or haven't I

[AnneLovesGilbert]

Yes of course it’s bad. It’s not hard to take them every day, just get organised and do it. They’re not recommended for fun but to protect your growing baby.

[SapphosRock]

Set an alarm or put them in your line of sight where you eat so you have them with a meal.

Saying that I vomited up every prenatal vitamin I ever took and eventually stopped taking them because I couldn't keep them down. Both my kids are fine.

[BertieBotts]

It depends. Folic acid (and vitamin D, I believe) is all that is recommended in the UK and it is only required for the first 12 weeks, after that it has very little effect.

These multivitamins you get in the fancy boxes are just expensive marketing IMO.

[BertieBotts]

Vit D should be taken all the way through, but given that it's summer it's unlikely you'll be deficient in it unless you are very dark skinned and/or spend a lot of time at home and rarely leave the house. Vitamin D deficiency usually turns up in Feb/March when your stores from the previous summer run out.

[BertieBotts]

www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/vitamins-minerals-supplements-pregnant/

It's recommended that you take:

400 micrograms of folic acid every day – from before you're pregnant until you're 12 weeks pregnant

[GrumpyHoonMain]

Yes it is bad. You need to take them to prevent folate insufficiency disorders. Also if you have a hemorrhage the extra iron in most supplements might help you prevent the need for a transfusion.

[Niffler2019]

Hi @AlwaysBelieve19 how far along are you? Folic acid 400mcg is important for the first 12 weeks to help prevent spina bifida. I was worried as I had extremely bad sickness and couldn't keep any vitamin tabs down. My midwife reassured me that folic acid and vitamin D are the only "essential" vitamins to take during pregnancy. Vitamin D is recommended throughout pregnancy as most people in the UK have low levels. There isn't really any need for the expensive multivitamins as long as you have a healthy and varied diet.
I confess I've been pretty bad at remembering the vitamin D. I was more concerned with trying to keep the folic acid and anti sickness meds down so I could eat and drink something. But I have been sitting out in the garden most days when it's sunny so hopefully I've got some vitamin D from that.