15 Best Prenatal Vitamins for a Healthy Pregnancy, According to OB/GYNs

Whether you’re pregnant or trying to conceive, you’ve probably heard that it’s important to take a daily prenatal vitamin. Doing so increases your chances of having a healthy pregnancy—and baby—by filling in the nutritional gaps that may exist in your diet. (Even the healthiest eaters likely aren’t getting enough of the nutrients they need!)

That’s where prenatal vitamins come in—they’re specially formulated to keep you and your baby healthy. They’re formulated very similarly to a women’s multivitamin with the addition of key nutrients, such as folic acid, iron, and calcium that help facilitate a healthy pregnancy, explains Kameelah Phillips, M.D., an OB/GYN in New York City. They are designed to be taken orally once daily, ideally starting at least one month prior to conception, according to The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG).

What are the benefits of taking a prenatal vitamin?

Eating a healthy diet is one of the best things you can do for your body and your growing baby during pregnancy—and this starts with ensuring that your plate is filled with the optimal nutrients. During pregnancy, women need additional folic acid, iron, calcium, vitamins A, B-complex, C, D, zinc, and omega-3 fatty acids to help support the growth and development of a healthy baby, explains Sherry Ross, M.D., an OB/GYN at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif. “These key ingredients are needed specifically for spine, bone, brain and red blood cell development,” she says.

There’s plenty of research that’s demonstrated a strong link between taking folic acid during pregnancy and preventing neural tube defects such as spina bifida and anencephaly. By consuming the 400 micrograms (mcg) of folic acid in your prenatal vitamin daily, you can lower your risk of having a baby with a neural tube defect.

The added iron found in many prenatal vitamins is also crucial for helping your body create and deliver enough blood and oxygen to your developing fetus. Adequate iron levels help prevent pregnancy-induced anemia, or low red blood cells, which is common in the second and third trimesters.

Depending on specific medical issues or factors pertaining to your pregnancy, some women may require more than the recommended dosing, notes Anate Brauer, M.D., a reproductive endocrinologist at Shady Grove Fertility in New York City and assistant professor of OB/GYN at NYU School of Medicine. “If a woman is vitamin D deficient, for example, she will require higher doses of vitamin D,” says Dr. Brauer. “A history of neural tube defects in a prior pregnancy or taking specific medications may require higher doses of folic acid—and twin pregnancies require higher doses of calcium and often iron.”

How to find the best prenatal vitamin

As with many other dietary supplements, there is certainly no shortage of prenatal vitamin brands on the market. Because vitamins and supplements are not regulated by the FDA, it can be hard to know which one is best for you. Dr. Brauer usually advises her patients to get the local pharmacy brand and to double check that it has proper amounts of folic acid and DHA. The ACOG recommends prenatal vitamins that contain at least 600 mcg of folic acid, 200 mg of DHA, 27 mg of iron, 1,000 mg of calcium, and 600 IU of vitamin D.

It’s also important to pick a pill that you can commit to taking daily. “If you don’t do well with large pills or have nausea, then look for a gummy or a small pill,” suggests Dr. Phillips. “If you have acid reflux, then avoid pills with fishy DHEA oil.” If your supplement is giving you side effects like constipation or gastrointestinal issues, try a different brand.

When it comes to cost, a higher price tag doesn’t necessarily mean a better vitamin. “Other than branding, color shape, and size, there is likely little difference between generic over-the-counter and prescribed prenatal vitamins,” explains Dr. Brauer. Now that you’ve brushed up on your prenatal vitamin knowledge, here are the best brands to stock up on.