A good, whole food based supplement.
I have done SO much research on prenatal vitamins, and this is the one I keep coming back to! If you are going to take a prenatal vitamin, this would be the one I would take. The nutrients are bioavailable(readily absorbed by the body) because it is whole foods based. It's great to see that it does not contain dangerous ingredients, and contains lots of healthy ORGANIC fruit and veggie juices, sprouted grains, etc. The dose being split into 3 pills a day means that the nutrients are better absorbed because you are not taking them all at once(although if I forget to take them during the day I will take them all at night and have not had any probs, but I prefer spacing them out). However, there are MUCH better sources of probiotics than the small amount of the 1 strain in this pill, and I would not count on a pill's added probiotics being alive when you take it. I prefer to get probiotics from probiotic foods: I make my own kefir with kefir grains, which is probably the best source of probiotics period. I also make homemade saurkrat, the old-fashioned way, which is fermenting it (check out the book Wild Fermentation). Kombucha is also good, if you have no mercury dental fillings. Please keep in mind that a pill is no substitute for a sound, healthy diet, especially while growing a baby! These vitamins did not give me morning sickness(or worsen what I was already feeling) like other brands I have taken. This supplement is low in calcium, magnesium and vitamin k, and does not contain phosphorus, which you can get from a healthy diet, especially if you are concentrating on eating foods containing those things. I drink raw milk for the phosphorus and calcium(Pasturized milk contains no phosphorus and its other nutrients are depleted because of the heat treatment, and they are not as easily absorbed. It also loses its beneficial enzymes), and raw sprouted nuts and seeds for calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus(dont eat raw nuts/seeds that are not sprouted due to the high amounts of phytates that block minerals from being absorbed), as well as broth (home made with bones) for the minerals. Feel free to salt your food to taste, as long as you use UNREFINED salt! Such as Redmonds, celtic salt, himilayan salt, etc, dont use refined white table salt! It is especially important to consume lots of minerals if this is not your first child because pregnancy and breastfeeding deplete the mothers body of vitmains and especially minerals (and DHA!) that it stores, so its best to be doing these things before conception. This supplement will not provide you with protein, and you need A LOT of protein while pregnant! Animal sources are by far the best, and are best utilized by the body. Adequate protein consumption has been proven to prevent pre-eclamsia, check out Dr. Brewers findings on this. My midwife has me drink organic alfalfa tea for vit k. There is also K in fermented veggies and aged cheese such as parmesan. I realize I stress protein a lot because it is so important, carbs are also important but not in huge amounts. I think a diet that includes lots of different foods is key. If you eat grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, etc, just make sure they are whole (as in whole grains I mean) and are soaked or sprouted. Dont consume a lot of sugar, even if its in the form of fruit. Eating 10 apples a day is not a balanced diet ;D I also take a DHA supplement for pre-conception, pregnancy and lactation. I take fermented cod liver oil, and its best if paired with high-vitamin butter oil. I take salmon oil on days I dont eat seafood as well. (salmon oil would be a good alternative to fermented cod livero oil if you dont like that idea. So is krill oil) Trying-to-get-pregnant, and pregnant women: I recommend the book Real Food for Mother and Baby by Nina Planck, the video The Business of Being Born (I bought it on Amazon, its on Netflix too I know), as well as the book Ina May's Guide to Childbirth! CONGRATS! PS- edited in Dec, 2012, I am pregnant again with my 3rd baby and have changed a few things in this review to reflect new research I have been doing on pregnancy nutrition. I am currently taking pastured organic raw liver cut in to "pills" as a prenatal supplement, and only using 1 of these vitamins per day. I also try to eat some Brewers yeast daily, the only brand I will take is made by Lewis Labs
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