4 Things to consider when choosing prenatal vitamins

There are so many options out there for prenatal vitamins, all the choices can be overwhelming! Prenatal vitamins help keep you and your baby healthy. It’s recommended that you take prenatal vitamins 3 months prior to trying to conceive, for the duration of your pregnancy and three months postpartum to help you recover. Taking prenatal vitamins while you’re pumping or breast/chestfeeding is also recommended.

Yoga Mamas' Naturopathic Doctor, Dr. Shannon Vander Doelen made a short list of things she recommends her clients to be mindful of when making the decision. Below are three things to consider when choosing a prenatal:
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1. Make sure you’re able to take it for a year or longer. If your body is not responding to it well (ie it makes you nauseous,) you should try a different one because you won’t be able to tolerate it for an extended period of time. 
   
   
2. Be weary of prenatal vitamins that claim to include all of your daily needs in one pill. It’s usually very difficult to pack everything into one. Typically you need to take more than one pill a day.
   
   
3. Take your prenatal vitamins with food. It helps with the absorption of nutrients and decreases the chance of nausea.
   
   
4. A good way to tell if your prenatal vitamin is of good quality is by checking which type of vitamin B9 (also known as folate) it has. Folic acid is the synthetic and inactive version of vitamin B9. Our bodies have to convert it into the active form of folate so that your body can use it. The other form of folate is 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (5-MTHF), which is the active form. 50% of the population is not able to convert folic acid into folate, so choosing a prenatal vitamin with 5-MTHF is a better option. Folate supports a baby’s brain and nervous system development.

Speak with your health practitioner when deciding on which prenatal vitamin to take. If you’re looking for a naturopathic doctor, Dr. Shannon Vander Doelen is accepting new patients! She’s available online and can treat anyone who resides in Ontario.

Meet Dr. Shannnon Vander Doelen, Naturopathic Doctor

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Dr. Shannon Vander Doelen is a Toronto-based licensed Naturopathic Doctor, wellness speaker and entrepreneur. She supports people on their journey to, and through motherhood - from hormonal health and fertility, to pregnancy and postpartum. Her mission as an ND is to make healthy living and feeling well simple, realistic and sustainable. She is also the creator of Fertility Foundations, an online program to support women to understand and optimize their fertility. 

She earned her doctorate degree from the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine. She is also a graduate of the University of Guelph, where she earned her Honours Bachelor of Science Degree in Biomedical Sciences. She is a member in good standing of the College of Naturopaths of Ontario, the Canadian Association of Naturopathic Doctors, and the Ontario Association of Naturopathic Doctors.