Planning a pregnancy: how to talk to your doctor about supplements

How should you start a conversation about supplements?

Planning a pregnancy is a good time to discuss your health, diet, medicines you take and any previous information about your health, known as your medical history, with your doctor. Thyroid conditions, problems absorbing nutrients from food and test results selected by your doctor according to your circumstances may also be relevant. The name “prenatal” or a reference to parenthood does not mean that a particular formula is suitable for everyone.

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Before your appointment, it is worth making a list of all the products you use, along with their labels and ingredient amounts. A label may specify a serving, meaning the stated amount of product described in the table, for example one tablet. Two different products may contain the same ingredients, such as folate or vitamin D. Their amounts should be assessed in the context of your overall diet and any advice you have received, rather than by adding together the largest numbers on the packaging yourself.

Folate and folic acid - what do these names mean?

Folate is a family of compounds, and folic acid is one specific form, used in supplements among other things. Publications may give amounts as equivalents, meaning values that take account of how the body uses different forms. It is therefore important to check the unit and which form the number refers to. The name of the form alone does not prove that the whole product is suitable for a particular person.

Evidence on folic acid before conception relates to specific preventive aims, meaning measures intended to reduce risk, and to particular circumstances. It does not mean that the ready-made CaliVita® formula guarantees a healthy pregnancy. A doctor determines individual advice, especially when there is a particular risk.

What is in New Life?

New Life declares, in one tablet, 400 µg folic acid, 75 µg iodine, 4 mg iron, 10 µg vitamin D3, 325 mg calcium and 112,5 mg magnesium, as well as other ingredients. The abbreviation “µg” means microgram, and “mg” means milligram; both units describe mass, with 1 mg being 1000 µg. All the amounts given here refer to one tablet, not to a daily plan set out in this article.

The table below makes it easier to see what the numbers refer to. One tablet means a single unit of the product, while a serving is the amount specified by the manufacturer in the ingredients table. In this case, the declared amounts refer to one tablet; they are not an individual recommendation to take the product.

Example: the table assigns 75 µg iodine to one tablet. This is information about the amount of an ingredient in that unit, not advice on how much to take. A doctor can consider this alongside your diet, thyroid health and any other advice. Similarly, 4 mg iron describes the contents of the tablet, but is not, by itself, a treatment dose for anaemia, a condition associated, among other things, with too little haemoglobin or too few red blood cells. A multi-ingredient formula provides several specific ingredients to discuss at an appointment.

Other questions about folate and vitamin D

Pure B Complex+ declares 400 µg folate in the form of calcium methylfolate, as well as other B vitamins and additional ingredients. This is information about a separate formula, not a replacement for a full assessment of supplementation during pregnancy. Vitamin D 2000 IU contains 50 µg vitamin D in one tablet and is a single-ingredient product. IU is an international unit used to express the amount of some vitamins; on this label, 50 µg corresponds to 2000 IU.

Comparing these three products makes it possible to discuss different ranges of ingredients, the form of folate and a separate vitamin D product. It is not a suggestion to combine them into one set for every woman. Some herbal supplements are not suitable during pregnancy or while planning a pregnancy; they should not automatically be included in such a set.

What do reviews say, and what do they not establish?

NIH, the US National Institutes of Health, describes the importance of different ingredients and differences in needs during pregnancy. Such a review does not prove that one multivitamin, meaning a product containing many vitamins and minerals, is suitable for every situation and every diet. Research on a specific ingredient and an assessment of a deficiency address separate, limited questions.

Safety issues relating to vitamin A, iodine, herbal ingredients and possible interactions, meaning the way different products or medicines may affect one another, are also important. When planning a pregnancy, during pregnancy and while breastfeeding, the treating doctor assesses the relevant context. New Life can be discussed as a specific multi-ingredient formula, without treating it as a substitute for individual advice.