Prenatal Vitamins Comparison

Many Prenatal Vitamins ( including prescription prenatal vitamins ) Do Not Meet U.S. Standards, PhD, Study Says? Find out how to protect yourself and baby.

Only 33% of the folic acid supplements they tested met U.S. Pharmacopeia standards in the study (prenatal vitamins ref  A ). And, studies have shown that periconceptional folic acid supplementation can prevent 50% of NTD's such as spina bifida (birth defects of the baby's spine), and anencephaly (birth defects of the baby's brain). prenatal vitamins references  1 & 2 

U.S. Pharmacopeia Standards are important in a prenatal vitamins comparison because, unless
the ingredients are absorbable we do not get the benefit required even if the product contains what the label says.

What's more: the Food & Drug Administration say, analyses of dietary supplements by a private sector laboratory suggest that a substantial number of dietary supplement products analyzed may not contain the amounts of dietary ingredients that would be expected to be found based on their product labels (dietary supplements also include prenatal vitamins ref  B ).

So, it is SAFER to choose prenatal vitamins from companies that meet U.S. Pharmacopeia Standards (USPs) for Potency, Uniformity, Disintegration & Dissolution if we can not trust what
is written on the label. Note: the top rated brand of vitamin supplements an independent health authority picked at vitamin brand ratings  meets U.S. Pharmacopeia Standards, and carries
a Potency & Purity Guarantee. And, it is also listed in the “Physician's Desk Reference”.

You can also verify the information on prenatal vitamins comparison yourself with the prenatal vitamins references, or/and send/give the prenatal vitamins comparison link to your friends and Physician so they are aware of the dangers too.

Vitamin A can also be toxic, and may even cause birth defects, depending on the amount taken, type of vitamin A used in the prenatal vitamins, etc (prenatal vitamins references  C ). And, if we
do not happen to have a Degree in Medicine & a PhD in Biochemistry, it makes good health
sense to rely on an independent panel of experts who do have these qualifications.

Iron supplements risks: should Iron be included in prenatal vitamin supplements, or
taken separately if required?

Iron can be toxic, accidental overdose of iron pills is a leading cause of poisoning deaths among young children, and it is important to keep iron supplements tightly capped and out of children's reach. The need for Iron supplements also varies between individuals, and it
is recommended that a physician be consulted as to iron supplementation needs.

Note: the potency of Iron supplements can also be affected if taken within one hour of multivitamin or calcium supplements (prenatal vitamins references  3, 4 & 5 ).

Iodine is an essential mineral needed for proper thyroid function, and a maternal iodine deficiency can cause significant irreversible mental retardation in the fetus. Iodine deficiency constitutes one of the most common preventable causes of mental deficiency in the world today (prenatal vitamins references  6 & 7 ).

Zinc: an adequate supply is essential for normal growth and development. Low maternal levels of zinc have been associated with low infant birthweights (prenatal vitamins references  8 & 9 ).

Selenium: newborns from a selenium deficient mother can suffer from muscular weakness. And, Selenium deficiency in humans has also been implicated as a risk factor for pregnancy loss
(prenatal vitamins references  10 & 11 ).

Vitamin D: studies have shown that vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy may adversely affect fetal growth, bone ossification, tooth enamel formation, and neonatal calcium homeostasis
(prenatal vitamins references  12 ).

Calcium: early accumulation of calcium provides a reserve for later use, and numerous studies
have shown that calcium supplementation can reduce the incidence of pregnancy induced hypertension (prenatal vitamins references  13 ).

Magnesium levels decrease during pregnancy, and there is evidence of magnesium disturbance in women who later develop preeclampsia. Magnesium supplementation is also therapeutic in treating pregnancy related leg cramps (prenatal vitamins references  14 & 15 ).

Vitamin B6 is an important requirement for normal perinatal development of the central nervous system, and studies have shown that a neonatal deficiency of B6 in infants can cause behavioral abnormalities, and low birthweight (prenatal vitamins references  16 ).

Prenatal Vitamins: there is increasing evidence that maternal undernutrition in pregnancy can have consequences for offspring in adult life. Consequences such as obesity, hypertension, hyperphagia, hyperinsulinemia, and hyperleptinemia (prenatal vitamins references  17 ).

Abstracts for most of the prenatal vitamins comparison references we used can be found
at www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/ . In PubMed, select “Single Citation Matcher” from
the PubMed Services, then enter the title name in the “Title words: box”, click search,
then click on the authors' names (in blue) to view the abstract.

A. University of Maryland (UM) Baltimore. School of Pharmacy. Stephen Hoag, PhD.
    Failure of prescription prenatal vitamin products to meet USP standards for folic acid dissolution
     &   PRENATAL VITAMINS DON'T MEET U.S. STANDARDS .

B. The FDA, Food & Drug Administration proposes New Standards For Dietary Supplements to
     protect the public Dietary Supplements Risks (will not come into effect for 3 more years?).

C  Institute of Medicine. Food and Nutrition Board. Dietary Reference Intakes: Thiamin,
     riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6, folate, vitamin B12, pantothenic Acid, biotin, and choline.
     National Academy Press. Washington, DC, 1998. (ref. pages 306 to 356 & 82 to 161)

1. Butterworth CE Jr., Bendich A., Folic acid and the prevention of birth defects. Annu
     Rev Nutr 16: 73-97 (1996).

2. Pediatrics 1999 Aug;104(2 Pt 1):325-7. Folic acid for the prevention of neural tube
    defects. American Academy of Pediatrics. Committee on Genetics.

3. Long PJ. Rethinking iron supplementation during pregnancy. J Nurse Midwifery.
    1995 Jan-Feb;40(1):36-40. Review.

4. Iron Deficiency Anemia * Diabetes Mellitus. www.epi.umn.edu/let/files/NMPA_89-112.PDF

5. Food & Drug Administration, Preventing Iron Poisoning in Children  Iron Supplements Risks

6. Glinoer D. Feto-maternal repercussions of iodine deficiency during pregnancy. Ann
    Endocrinol (Paris). 2003 Feb;64(1):37-44.

7. Delange F. The disorders induced by iodine deficiency. Department of Pediatrics, Hospital
    Saint-Pierre, University of Brussels, Belgium. Thyroid 1994 Spring;4(1):107-28

8. Simmer K and Thompson RP. Zinc in the fetus and newborn. Acta Paediatr Scand
    Suppl 1985;319:158-163.

9. Bloxam DL, Williams NR, Waskett RJ, Stewart SG. Disturbed zinc metabolism and
    reduced birthweight related to raised maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein in normal human
    pregnancies. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 1994 Nov;73(10):758-64.

10. Bedwal RS, Bahuguna A. Zinc, copper and selenium in reproduction. Experientia.
      1994 Jul 15;50(7):626-40. Review.

11. Kumar KS, Kumar A, Prakash S, Swamy K, Jagadeesan V, Jyothy A. Role of red
      cell selenium in recurrent pregnancy loss. Division of Cell Biology, Institute of Genetics,
      Osmania University, Begumpet, Hyderabad-500 016, India.

12. Specker BL. Do North American women need supplemental vitamin D during
      pregnancy or lactation? Am J Clin Nutr. 1994 Feb;59(2 Suppl):484S-490S;
      discussion 490S-491S. Review.

13. Purwar M, Kulkarni H, Motghare V, Dhole S. Calcium supplementation and prevention
      of pregnancy induced hypertension. J Obstet Gynaecol Res. 1996 Oct;22(5):425-30.

14. Standley CA, Whitty JE, Mason BA, Cotton DB. Serum ionized magnesium levels
      in normal and preeclamptic gestation. Obstet Gynecol. 1997 Jan;89(1):24-7.

15. Dahle LO, Berg G, Hammar M, Hurtig M, Larsson L. The effect of oral magnesium
      substitution on pregnancy-induced leg cramps. Am J Obstet Gynecol.
      1995 Jul;173(1):175-80.

16. Gerster H. The importance of vitamin B 6 for development of the infant. Human medical
      and animal experiment studies. Z Ernahrungswiss. 1996 Dec;35(4):309-17. Review.

17. Vickers MH, Breier BH, McCarthy D, Gluckman PD. Sedentary behavior during
      postnatal life is determined by the prenatal environment and exacerbated by postnatal
      hypercaloric nutrition. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2003 Jul;285(1):R271-3.