Prenatal Vitamins 2008-05-01 08:00:00

Generic or Name Brand Prenatal Vitamins?

May 1, 2008

Once you get pregnant, or preferably before, your OB/GYN will most likely recommend supplementing your diet with a prenatal vitamin.

Some doctors prescribe a specific brand while others, like myself, took generic ones from drugstores like Walgreens ($10).

Stuart Prenatal ($30) vitamins cost three times as much as the generic brand but according to the label, the ingredients are the same.

Did you buy into the labels?

24 Comments

cutecurls 5 years 2 weeks

I take Rainbow Light Just Once prental vitamins.

cutecurls 5 years 2 weeks

I take Rainbow Light Just Once prental vitamins.

techgirl20 5 years 2 weeks

I was very sick up until my 5th month. I was on medication to stop me from being sick, but if I took any vitamins, I would throw up. My mom is an R.N. and used to be a mid-wife, so she suggested that I drink Ensure. Well, I drank one in the morning with my breakfast and my daughter came out very healthy.

jimmalou1978 5 years 2 weeks

I take a children's multivitamin and some Expecta for the omega-3. My OB said that was fine. All the prenatal vitamins made me sick. So taking this is better than taking nothing (which was what I was doing). And baby is doing great!

Dbtabm 5 years 2 weeks

I actually took the exact generic brand you have pictured. My OB said that as long as it has the right amount of folic acid you're fine.

rgrl 5 years 2 weeks

I get GNC... but I don't consider that High End or Generic. Just in between.

DesignRchic 5 years 2 weeks

Thanks Texas :)

DesignRchic 5 years 2 weeks

Thanks Texas :)

TexasTwinkle 5 years 2 weeks

I take pregnancy plus prenatal vitamins ordered online and they smell pretty bad. But, they do not have artificial color etc. and dissolve really fast. I have found the key is to always eat something substancial bafore taking the vitamin. I also take the vitamin with juice not water the smell and taste is lost in the juice. They will make you sick on an empty stomach. Fruit is not enough. My OB also said Flintstones if I could not take the smell. By the Congrats to all expectant moms its tough but so much fun!!!

LiLRuck44 5 years 2 weeks

I take whole food supplements (Alive! capsules, etc.) I used to take the generic, but these are actual superfoods condensed. I never took Flinstones because they have aspartame in them and artificial coloring. I hate the feeling in my throat when I take a bunch though! Especially if you know you're going to throw up shortly.... ugh! ANY type of vitamin going down is ten times better than coming up.

LiLRuck44 5 years 2 weeks

Courtney82 5 years 2 weeks

i got name brand but they were having a big old sale so I got 50% off so about the same as generic. last time had prescription but threw up everyday of being pregnant

DesignRchic 5 years 2 weeks

My OB/GYN prescribed one a day prenatal vitamins for me but because I like to know the breakdown of what's in the vitamins and how much of it, I buy my own. This is what I take:http://www.amazon.com/Rainbow-Light-Complete-Prenatal-Tablets/dp/B000EE804AI take 6 a day(2 with each meal) and they have no effect on me. My husband (a chemistry nut) did an experiment where he placed several different vitamins in a glass of water to see how quickly they dissolved. Because these that I take now are food based, they dissolved rapidly.

DesignRchic 5 years 2 weeks

My OB/GYN prescribed one a day prenatal vitamins for me but because I like to know the breakdown of what's in the vitamins and how much of it, I buy my own. This is what I take: http://www.amazon.com/Rainbow-Light-Complete-Prenatal-Tablets/dp/B000EE804A I take 6 a day(2 with each meal) and they have no effect on me. My husband (a chemistry nut) did an experiment where he placed several different vitamins in a glass of water to see how quickly they dissolved. Because these that I take now are food based, they dissolved rapidly.

vmruby 5 years 2 weeks

My prenatal vitamins were a brand name. The first ones the doctor had prescribed for me made me nauseous so she switched me over to a berry flavored chewable pill .Those were fine and they didn't taste bad either.

faerymagick15 5 years 2 weeks

My insurance covers my prenatals. I pay nothing and its the really good stuff with extra folic acid(1mg instead of 800mcg) and DHA/omega 3 stuff. I pay nothing so I figured why not! Before this IVF came along that we are gearing up for I would buy Target generics, which were ok.

luv2blazy 5 years 2 weeks

When I first started taking prenatals I got the brand name from the doctors office. When I went to get the prescription filled, I was given generic and I never felt well after taking it. I was able to get put back on the high-end pills and I had no more problems. I don't think it was a mental thing, but you never know.

heatherfoster 5 years 2 weeks

I'm also doing Flintstones. I haven't had any problems with them and will probably continue to take them after my pregnancy is over!

secrethoughts 5 years 2 weeks

Mine are prescribed, so they're name brand, but they're cheaper than generics, and bonus: they don't make me sick!

jennifer76 5 years 2 weeks

The prenatals made me really nauseous, so my midwife just had me taking Flintstones vitamins. It worked out perfectly - one for my son, two for me and no nausea.

beccalu 5 years 2 weeks

Meandtheo, I was feeling horrible too and couldn't figure out why! Then someone told me that that the vitamins can make you feel sick, so I now take them right before I go to sleep. :)

meandtheo 5 years 2 weeks

While I was pregnant I took a brand-name vitamin. I actually had to go through a number of vitamins to find that one that didn't make me vomit! It was awful, I was vomiting all day just from being pregnant and then I would take the vitamin and be running to the bathroom 10 minutes later. In the end I found one that I could take just before bed and manage to sleep through it. I am still nursing and still taking the pills. I would have loved to have found a cheaper generic brand, these cost $45!

kikidawn 5 years 2 weeks

I'm not currently pregnant therefore not taking a prenatal. I do, however, take a regular 'one-a-day' type vitamin for the folic acid. I take generic on the basis that you aren't (at least while not pregnant) supposed to take more than 100% daily value of any vitamin in one day. The name brand One-A-Days all have higher than 100% on most of the vitamins and I don't feel comfortable taking that. I take the generic kind b/c all values are at 100%. (And Vit A is lower) Vitamins are good... but they can be toxic if taken in too large of doses for too long.

kikidawn 5 years 2 weeks

Link Love

24 Comments

You Might Also Like