Prenatal Vitamins

Best multivitamin for pregnant and lactating women

Pregnant and lactating women need more from their multivitamin, including increased folic acid and iron. Experts also recommend a slightly higher percentage of vitamin A in the safer form of beta-carotene to prevent birth defects. The current guidelines recommend 600 mcg of folic acid per day (up from 400 mcg for premenopausal women) and 27 mg of iron (up from 18 mg). Pregnant women also have slightly higher needs for magnesium, selenium, zinc, copper, vitamin C, riboflavin and niacin. Based on the latest guidelines, calcium and vitamin D needs remain the same as before pregnancy. A full list of recommended amounts is available in the Useful Links section. 

Pregnant or breastfeeding women also want their multi to be as safe and as free from toxins as possible. When the FDA tested 324 multivitamins for lead in 2007, it found that several prenatal multivitamins contain larger amounts. None of the vitamins exceeded the provisional total tolerable intake levels of lead -- 25 mcg per day -- for pregnant or breastfeeding women. Still, Sound Formula's After Baby Boost 1 (*Est. $50 for 120 tablets) contained an estimated daily exposure of 8.97 mcg. Experts say that lead exposure at this level is unlikely to be dangerous, but the vitamin-testing specialists at ConsumerLab.com recommend avoiding any unnecessary lead exposure, because you are probably exposed to lead in other areas of your life as well. For its part, Sound Formula says it changed manufacturers in January 2008 and duplicated the test in an independent lab; the new formula had an estimated daily exposure of 0.328 mcg per day.

The state of California requires that all supplements carry warning labels if they contain more than 0.5 mcg of lead in a daily serving. If you are worried about lead, several prenatal multivitamins tested by the FDA have lower levels, including Pregnancy Plus Prenatal Multivitamin (*Est. $17 for 60 tablets) at 0.189 mcg per day.

The Pregnancy Plus Prenatal Multivitamin scores highly in recent tests conducted by ConsumerLab.com. Pregnancy Plus contains many of the recommended nutrients for pregnant women, including 5,000 IU of vitamin A (all in the safer form of beta-carotene), 600 mcg of folic acid and 27 mg of iron. The multi contains only 40 mg of calcium (4 percent of DV), so pregnant women should talk to their doctor about an additional calcium supplement to meet the recommended 1,000 mg per day. Some users say the Pregnancy Plus multivitamin has a strong vegetable smell, but others say it is easy to swallow.

Rainbow Light Just Once Prenatal One (*Est. $8.50 for 30 tablets) gets very high marks at Amazon.com, where nearly 125 reviews combine to give it a 4.5-star rating. Most reviewers note few side effects, and vegans and vegetarians especially appreciate that this prenatal multivitamin is certified to be free of animal-derived ingredients. However, a few critics say the strong smell exacerbates their morning sickness. The Rainbow Light prenatal multivitamin includes 800 mcg of folic acid, 30 mg of iron and 4,000 IU of vitamin A (half as beta-carotene). Like the Pregnancy Plus Multivitamin, Rainbow Light has only 200 mg of calcium and 400 IU of vitamin D, which are less than the recommended amounts for pregnant women.

Although Rainbow Light Just Once Prenatal One gets high marks in user reviews, it fails ConsumerLab.com's latest evaluation. In this test, the Rainbow Light prenatal supplement contained only 41.3 percent of the vitamin A listed on the label, which results in a "Not Approved" rating.

GNC Women's Prenatal Formula with Iron (*Est. $15 for 120 caplets) contains 1,000 mcg of folic acid, 600 mg of calcium and 18 mg of iron (experts recommend 27 mg of iron for pregnant women). It also has 4,500 IU of vitamin A, all of it in the safer beta-carotene form. GNC Women's Prenatal Formula isn't included in ConsumerLab.com's latest test, but it is one of three prenatal multivitamins approved by the organization in an older testing report. The few user reviews on Drugstore.com are positive, and reviewers say the vitamins are easy on the stomach and don't cause nausea.

To save money, you might consider generic or store brands. ConsumerLab.com recently approved one store brand, Rite Aid Prenatal Tablets with Folic Acid (*Est. $4 for 100 tablets), for pregnant women. This one-a-day prenatal vitamin contains most of the standards for pregnant women, including 800 mcg of folic acid and 27 mg of iron, although only 25 percent of the vitamin A (4,000 IU in total) is available as beta-carotene. There's only 200 mg of calcium, so ask your doctor if you need an additional calcium supplement. The Rite Aid Prenatal multivitamin does get high marks from users at RiteAid.com, where women say the pills are easy to swallow without any strong odors or tastes. "Easy to swallow, no aftertaste, and they go down easy with OJ," says one reviewer.