When I found out we successfully conceived, our midwife recommended to start supplementing – even more! I didn’t realize just how many nutrients this baby was going to soak up, meaning I had to increase my intake of these nutrients and not just with food. This also means I’m popping even MORE pills now than my previous post: Why I pop more pills NOW than before NSNG.
I’m still taking my probiotic, except I’ve switched from the Garden of Life RAW Probiotics for Women to their Vaginal Care formula. My midwife suggested I find a probiotic that contains two specific strains (Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Lactobacillus fermentum) that are good for vaginal health and preventing group B strep infection. The Women’s formula contained only one of the suggested strains so I was happy to see the Vaginal Care formula had both. Group B Strep is a bacterial infection that exists in digestive and reproductive organs of men and women, and about 1 of 4 pregnant women carry the infection. Urine cultures, usually between 35-37 weeks, determine your group B strep status and if you are positive, antibiotics are administered thru IV just prior to delivery. To find out more info about group B strep please visit Group B Strep International.
I still take the same Garden of Life Vitamin Code RAW Prenatal vitamin, but now I’ve increased my dose to three pills per day. Most women are iron-deficient, especially during pregnancy, and I am no exception!! My labwork showed a small deficiency of iron, so I’ve made the necessary adjustments with my supplements. This led me to also include an iron supplement. My favorite brand of course came thru for me, offering their Garden of Life Vitamin Code RAW Healthy Blood vitamin that includes 28mg of gentle whole food iron and whole food vitamins C, B-6, and B-12 to support iron absorption and utilization, a RAW probiotic and enzyme blend for digestive support, and a RAW Veggie Mineral Blend of 17 organically grown vegetables & 75 ancient soil based alkalizing trace minerals containing natural cofactors. Garden of Life also has a Vitamin Code RAW Iron supplement, specifically. I definitely preferred taking the capsule from GoL over supplementing with a juicy, sugar-loaded liquid supplement such as Floradix.
As far as my B-12 supplementing, I also looked toward G0L for their product: Vitamin Code RAW B-12 as I await Pure Vitamin Club’s upcoming B-12!
I’ve reduced my intake of Magnesium, as suggested by my midwife, so I may take one at bedtime but sometimes skip it altogether. Since Pure Vitamin Club’s magnesium is so gentle, at 200mg per capsule, it is easy to take and still helps me sleep well at night – I haven’t had any sleepless nights during pregnancy so far!
In addition to my pre-pregnancy supplements:
My wonderful midwife suggested I add vitamin D-3 to my daily regimen. She specifically says:
It helps support your immune system and your bones and helps the baby as well. Most prenatal vitamins have some D3 in them, but probably not enough. Supplementing with Vitamin D3, 6,000 IUs a day is a good amount. If you can’t bring up your vitamin D3 level with the supplements you are taking, try opening a capsule of dry vitamin D3 and let it dissolve under your tongue and take it when you are eating some fat, because it will absorb better.
Garden of Life Vitamin Code RAW D3 comes in various dosages. Be sure you are getting enough as your provider recommends. I was purchasing my D3 from Whole Foods in 2,000 IU and trying to remember to take more than one per day until I realized Amazon had the D3 in 5,000 IU. TIP: We were spending a fortune on all my necessary supplements at Whole Foods, but added them to our Amazon Prime Subscribe & Save allowing us to get them at 15% off and shipped right to our door exactly when I need them! I still get my probiotic at Whole Foods due to the refrigeration requirement.
If your prenatal vitamin does not contain DHA and EPA you may want to take something that does. DHA and EPA are Omega 3 fatty acids that are good for your baby’s brain and eye development. When adding my supplements to Amazon’s Subscribe & Save, I found Garden of Life Oceans Mom Prenatal DHA that contains 350mg of DHA and 15mg of EPA. This DHA does contain soy and a natural strawberry flavoring that I’d usually keep looking for something else, but I’ve been so satisfied with Garden of Life that I’m confident it is still a really good product.
Bone Health is something to think about as a woman and during your pregnancy it is especially important because your body will take nutrients from your bones to give to your baby! Garden of Life Vitamin Code RAW Calcium has 756mg of calcium (naturally occurring from Algae) as well as vitamins C, D3, K, and Magnesium. Be sure you are checking your label for dosage requirements because the supplement facts listed are for a specific serving size, so if you are only taking one per day for a supplement that has a serving size of 4 per day, you are only getting 1/4th of the amount per serving on the label.
As a reminder for this and all of my posts: Please consult your healthcare provider with any questions or concerns.
amzn_assoc_placement = “adunit0”;
amzn_assoc_search_bar = “true”;
amzn_assoc_tracking_id = “ns0e6-20”;
amzn_assoc_ad_mode = “manual”;
amzn_assoc_ad_type = “smart”;
amzn_assoc_marketplace = “amazon”;
amzn_assoc_region = “US”;
amzn_assoc_title = “My Amazon Picks”;
amzn_assoc_linkid = “98bf63b3ca0627d6803407b76b33e92c”;
amzn_assoc_asins = “B005JAT3TU,B005JAT318,B003L31NM2,B0098U0QWA,B00280M12K,B0039LF25A,B00ASZ2QNQ,B018V0QJYQ”;