can you take prenatal vitamins after delivery?
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Doctors often recommend that women who are breastfeeding also continue taking prenatal vitamins after delivery. Prenatal vitamins can serve as a further supplement to lactating women who need plenty of nutrients to make breast milk.
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Since prenatal vitamins are a multivitamin, taking them before lunch is an optimal time to absorb all that they contain. A good prenatal vitamin will include calcium, iron, and folic acid, according to the American Congress of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG).
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Taking prenatal vitamins prior to conception has been shown reduce the chance of irregularities such as neural tube defects, heart defects, limb deformities, and cleft palate, according to research published in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Canada. A prenatal can ensure adequate iron stores.
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But according to the Mayo Clinic, neural tube defects can start forming during week six. This is why both experts say it's ideal for prenatal vitamins to be consistently taken before pregnancy. “It's best to start taking prenatal vitamins at least one to two months before beginning to try to conceive,” says Earthman.
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That's where prenatal vitamins come in. Unlike a regular multivitamin, prenatals are packed with all-important nutrients that you and your baby need right now — including, most importantly, folic acid, which helps prevent neural tube defects like spina bifida.
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Prenatal vitamins consist of a variety of vitamins and minerals that help your baby get the nutrients that are essential for healthy development. During pregnancy, a woman's daily intake requirements for certain nutrients, such as folic acid (folate), calcium, and iron will increase.
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Even if you're not breastfeeding, prenatal supplements can help to fill in nutritional gaps, and can be taken up until six weeks after giving birth, according to the CPMC.
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If it seems like taking the vitamins first thing in the morning or without food is making you sick, try taking them right before you go to bed. The benefits of prenatal vitamins are cumulative, so the most important thing is that you take them every day.
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Ideally, you'll start taking prenatal vitamins before conception. In fact, it's generally a good idea for women of reproductive age to regularly take a prenatal vitamin.
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Your health care provider may prescribe a prenatal vitamin for you at your first prenatal care checkup. Or you can buy them over the counter without a prescription. Take a prenatal vitamin every day during pregnancy. If you're planning to get pregnant, you can start taking prenatal vitamins before you get pregnant.
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Prenatal vitamins are specially designed multivitamins that deliver the extra amounts of nutrients needed during various stages of your baby's development. For example, they contain folic acid, which is important for baby's brain development in the earliest stages.
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Taking prenatal vitamins even after pregnancy is a recommended option. They work well as postnatal vitamins, since your breast milk will continue to provide important nutrients for your baby. Make sure your supplements include essential nutrients such as folic acid, iron, Vitamin D, fish oil, and calcium.
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If you still have your prenatal vitamins, continue to take them. When you see your doctor for your six-week checkup, ask them for a recommendation – your doctor may order an iron test to check for anemia.
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Take a prenatal vitamin. A recent study found that women undergoing fertility treatments who were taking prenatal multivitamins were twice as likely to get pregnant as women who were undergoing the same treatments but taking only folic acid.
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Prenatal vitamins are specific to the needs of pregnant and breastfeeding women. They're geared to make up the common nutritional deficiencies a pregnant woman could have. But they aren't really intended for women (or men) who aren't expecting or lactating.
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Reduce risk of birth defects. Perhaps the most important (and best publicized) reason to take a prenatal vitamin is for the folic acid (vitamin B9, or folate when it's in food form) it contains.
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Before pregnancy, take a vitamin supplement that has 400 micrograms of folic acid in it every day. During pregnancy, take a prenatal vitamin that has 600 micrograms of folic acid in it every day. Take a vitamin supplement with folic acid every day, even if you're not trying to get pregnant.