When I was pregnant with my girls, I took a prenatal vitamin from Walmart. Not the cheapest one, but not the most expensive. I made sure they had all the “vitals”–DHA, Folic Acid… When we started trying to get pregnant this time, I bought the same brand as I’d bought before. They were fine while trying to conceive, but when I got pregnant, I noticed that every time I took my prenatal, I felt worse within an hour. It was awful. I had bad morning sickness anyway and I didn’t want to have my vitamins making it even worse.
I spoke with my midwife about it and she gave me some samples of prescription prenatals to try. They were even worse! One of them, you had to take two a day and they were HUGE! It’s hard to swallow when you’re constantly feeling like puking and even harder when the pill is horse-sized. The other one she gave me to try was equally awful. It was also two pills and although both were small, one was the DHA pill. It smelled like dead fish. Not good for a pregnant, sick mama.
I did some reading and found that sometimes the iron content in the prenatal vitamins caused the problem of extra sickness. I went to Walmart to try to find myself some vitamins that were lower in iron. I eat plenty of red meat and my iron levels were fine in my initial blood tests at my first appointment, so I wasn’t really worried about getting more in my vitamin.
When I found the VitaFusion PreNatal gummies, I was really excited. I’d heard good things about the gummies and the fact that they have NO iron in them gave me hope. I took them home, gave them a try, and…YUM! They’re delicious. They taste like gummy bears. 🙂
And the best thing?? They don’t make me sick!!
The down side? (Yes…there is one.) I can’t take them when I take my other pills. My nightly routine goes like this. Put on pj’s, go to the bathroom, brush teeth, take pills, go to bed. The other pills I take at night are Vitamin B and Unisom, both of which I can swallow. Obviously, since I chew these, I don’t like to take them after I’ve brushed my teeth. The only reason this is a problem is that I have to remember to take them earlier in the day. Not a huge deal, but I do forget them more often than I did my other prenatals.
The other downside? (Okay, there are two.) They do have a bit of an aftertaste. My suggestion would be taking them with a meal so you have something else in your mouth to get rid of the taste before you even notice it. That or chewing gum, brushing your teeth, or taking a drink of something all work well.
Overall though, I love these and am so glad I found them! They make taking my vitamins so much more pleasant!
Disclosure: I did not receive any compensation or free product for this post. The product was purchased by me and my thoughts are 100% mine.
I was so bad about taking prenatal during my pregnancy with my son. I laughed when the nurse looked at his umbilical cord and said “wow, this looks great and shows that you did a good job nutrition wise when you were pregnant!” I don’t think so! I did try these gummies – I wish they didn’t have the sugary coating on them. I would need one with iron too, as I do have a lower level. I hope if we have another baby, they’ll have more gummy options at that time! I do agree with you about the horse sized fishy pills – yuck!!
Blessings,
Nicole @ WKH
lol! You must have done well with your diet then! 🙂 For future pregnancies, I’ve also heard great things about whole-food based vitamins. Supposedly, they’re easier on the stomach. And they contain easier to digest iron. Hopefully you find something that works for you if there’s a next time! Thanks for stopping by!
Hi Jessica! Thank you for coming over to my blog today!
I was very interested in your post today. I worked as a nurse in an OB/GYNE office for 12 years, so nausea and vomiting is always an issue taking vitamins. My daughter is pregnant and loves the chewable vitamins, because she has difficulty swallowing any kind of pill. I was pretty sold on prescription , but if the gummys have all the ‘good stuff’, why not take them?
Nice review, on a topic so many can relate to!
Ceil
Thanks Ceil!
I haven’t looked into the exact differences of the content of prescription vs. non-prescription, but I’ve been in three different OB/Midwife offices for my three different pregnancies and they’ve all said the OTC were just fine. The impression I get is that prescription is cheaper for some people because of their insurances and that’s why they go with those. Not the case for me. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
I take these too!! I was having difficulty swallowing my first prenatals. I do have to take an iron supplement though but that is a small pill and since I am now in the second trimester my sickness has passed.
I was really happy that these didn’t have artificial flavors or colors (which was the first thing we look at when it comes to gummy vitamins).
Happy, healthy pregnancy! God Bless.
I believe I take the same ones, got them at Costco. The tummies are better…I also had bad bad morning sickness and had a hard time taking these!! Thanks for the tips.
Blessings,
Adrienne R
http://www.lacedbygrace.wordpres.com