Planning for pregnancy? It’s natural to associate prenatal vitamins with pregnancy specifically, after all experts and government organizations advise taking a prenatal to support you and baby during each trimester. What you may not know, is that you should actually start your prenatal vitamin routine several months before pregnancy.

In this guide, you’ll learn more about the importance of consuming a healthy diet, when to start taking a prenatal vitamin, and why both are important when trying to conceive through to pregnancy.
 

UNDERSTANDING NUTRITIONAL NEEDS DURING PREGNANCY AND CONCEPTION

Whether you’re pregnant or trying to get pregnant, you have unique nutritional needs that you must be diligent about meeting. Nutritional demands are heightened during pregnancy and conception to maintain the health of both you and baby. While a variety of vitamins and minerals are essential for healthy conception and pregnancy, here are some essentials:

Folate

Folate is a form of vitamin B9. It plays a critical role in early fetal development and also benefits mood, memory, cognition, and heart health. 

Many prenatal vitamins use folic acid, the synthetic form of folate, but up to 60% of women have a genetic variation that prevents them from properly processing folic acid. We only use methylated folate (calcium ʟ‑5‑methyltetrahydrofolate), the active form of this B vitamin for this reason. Our formula also includes vitamins B12 and B6 in their premium bioactive forms, as they serve as cofactors for metabolic activity throughout the body.

You can get folate from leafy green vegetables, broccoli, black-eyed peas, and kidney beans. 

Iron

Iron is a mineral that is required in significantly higher doses during pregnancy to increase blood production and ensure sufficient oxygen supply to the fetus. It’s an important component of hemoglobin, the protein that carries oxygen from the lungs to all tissues of the body and promotes normal red blood cell production and supports energy utilization, even more essential during pregnancy.

Iron is found in red meat, poultry, and some seafood (including sardines), as well as leafy green vegetables, soybeans, and lima beans.

Iodine

Iodine is necessary for fetal brain development, in addition to bring crucial for thyroid function. You can boost your iodine intake by adding iodized salt to your food and eating more seafood, dairy, and eggs.

Choline

Choline, like folate, supports fetal brain development, spinal cord development, and supports nutrient transport across the placenta. This is a common nutrient deficiency in women, so supplementation is typically required. Choline can be found in egg yolks, lean meats, kidney beans, and white beans.

B-Complex

B-vitamins (the full suite, not just folate!) are required for the production and release of energy in cells and for the metabolism of protein, fat and carbohydrates. Deficiency in these vitamins can therefore have an impact on cellular growth as well as on nerve tissue development due to its high-energy demand. 

B-complex vitamins are obtained primarily from meat, poultry, fish and dairy products and can also be found in legumes and leafy green vegetables.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is a potent antioxidant that promotes cellular health. It also contributes to healthy gums and teeth and aids in calcium absorption. You can get vitamin C from citrus fruits, broccoli, strawberries, and tomatoes. 

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is also necessary for calcium absorption. Additionally, it supports your mood and immune system. You can find vitamin D in eggs and some mushrooms, but you can also boost your body’s levels by spending time in the sun regularly. It’s estimated that up to 50% of people have vitamin D deficiency, which is best measured by the 25-hydroxy vitamin D test, so supplementing is crucial to maintain bone health, mood, and immune system function.

Omega-3 (DHA + EPA)

Docosahexaenoic acid (or DHA) is an omega-3 fatty acid that makes up roughly 97 percent of omega-3s in the brain and 93 percent of omega-3s in the retinas. DHA is vital to fetal brain development and eye development. You can get DHA primarily from fatty fish (such as salmon and sardines). 

Note that omega-3 EPA helps omega-3 DHA cross the placenta, so it’s important to have both in your prenatal vitamins.

WHY YOU SHOULD START A PRENATAL BEFORE GETTING PREGNANT

In addition to helping you meet specific nutritional needs, there are other benefits that come with taking a prenatal vitamin before you get pregnant, including those listed below:

Eggs Take Over 3 Months to Develop

The more committed you are to supporting egg health and quality, the easier it will likely be for you to get and stay pregnant. 

On average, eggs take about 90 days to develop and become fully mature. Therefore, many fertility specialists recommend starting supplements or making diet/lifestyle changes at least three months before trying to conceive. That way, you’re working with healthy eggs right from the start.

Folate Is Used in Early-Stage Pregnancy

Folic acid is critical during early-stage pregnancy because it helps with neural tube formation. Without sufficient folate, your baby is at a greater risk of congenital disabilities that affect the brain and spinal cord. 

Keep in mind, too, that many women don’t know they’re pregnant until several weeks after they’ve conceived. If you aren’t taking a prenatal vitamin at this time, you might not be providing your fetus with essential nutrients, including the all-important folate, as early as is recommended.

Antioxidants Can Protect Eggs and Sperm

Antioxidants are compounds that prevent cellular damage caused by free radicals. 

Consuming more antioxidants, including vitamin C and others found in many prenatal vitamins, can protect a woman’s eggs and a man’s sperm (that’s right, men can benefit from taking prenatal supplements, too -- although they should take ones specifically formulated for their nutritional needs rather than borrowing from your bottle). 

Prenatal Vitamins Fill in Nutritional Gaps

After reading through the list of essential nutrients needed during pregnancy, you might be wondering why you need a supplement when you can get all those vitamins and nutrients from food.

Technically, you can. However, it’s not always easy to consume sufficient amounts of fruits, vegetables, eggs, fish, etc., while trying to conceive or during early pregnancy (especially when morning sickness sets in). Additionally, synthetic fertilizers deplete soil of key minerals, so any plants (or animals) raised on that soil are missing essential vitamins and minerals. Other factors such as stress, energy demands, environmental toxins, and past cellular damage can make the need to supplement even higher.

Taking a prenatal vitamin is an easy way to fill gaps in your diet and ensure you’re getting enough of the most important nutrients. Put simply, it gives you one less thing to worry about (and managing stress is also critical to your pregnancy journey).
 

SO, WHEN SHOULD I START TAKING PRENATAL VITAMINS

There’s nothing wrong with a little extra fertility support, even (or perhaps especially) if you’re at the beginning of your conception journey. How early should you begin incorporating prenatal vitamins into your daily routine, though? 

Most physicians and medical professionals recommend starting to take a prenatal vitamin as soon as you begin trying to conceive. However, some go so far as to suggest starting up to six months before you officially start trying.

Starting early will help you ensure you’re meeting essential nutrient benchmarks and setting your body up for a healthy pregnancy. 

SHOULD I TAKE A PRENATAL IF I'M NOT TRYING TO GET PREGNANT

If you are not pregnant or seeking conception support, there’s no need for you to take prenatal vitamins.

Some people claim that taking prenatal vitamins can help with hair and nail growth, but there’s no significant evidence indicating that those claims have any validity. Taking significant amounts of vitamins that your body doesn’t need because you aren’t trying to conceive can also increase your risk of other health problems.

While prenatal vitamins aren’t necessary for those who aren’t trying to get pregnant, that doesn’t mean you can’t take other vitamins to boost your health and well-being. Instead, you can take supplements designed specifically for your needs and ensure you are getting adequate amounts of essential vitamins and minerals and fill in any gaps that currently exist in your diet.

TEST NUTRIENT LEVELS BEFORE SUPPLEMENTING

It’s always a good idea to test your nutrient levels and identify deficiencies (and borderline deficiencies) before you start taking a prenatal vitamin or any other kind of supplement.

With an at-home test you can determine what vitamins and minerals you need, saving you from guessing and hoping you’re getting enough.