PREGNANCY-BIRTH Messages for November, 1998: Re: prenatal vitamins

Re: prenatal vitamins

From: R. (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Mon, 16 Nov 1998 13:05:28 -0600 (CST)

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In reply to: Erin: "prenatal vitamins"

At Fri, 13 Nov 1998, Erin wrote: >
>I am currently trying to get pregnant, and have been taking a
>prescription prenatal vitamin daily. However, I have noticed that some
>OTC prenatals seemed to have higher amounts of certain vitamins and
>minerals.
>
>I figure that if this were a good thing, my doctor would have directed
>me to take one of those, but she only offered me a choice of three
>prescription vitamins. Which leads me to my first question: Are the
>vitamin and mineral levels in most OTC prenatals safe, or can they cause
>some sort of toxicity?
>
>If they are generally safe, are there any standards for supplementation?
>I have found tremendous variability between vitamins made by different
>manufacturers. I would like to know the minimum requirements for a good
>prenatal supplement. Maximums would be helpful, too.
>
>Also, do you have any opinion on selenium, chromium, and other minerals
>that do not yet have any established RDA? Should a prenatal include
>these as well?
>
>Thank you.

In general, no two prenatal vitamins are the same. Most companies make an OTC brand and a prescription brand. Usually the OTC has 0.8 mg of Folic acid and the prescription has 1.0 mg of Folic acid. Everything else is the same. It is recommended that one get 5000 IU of Vit A, 400 IU of Vit D, and 1 mg of Folic acid. After that no two come close. Especially when you get into the minerals. Some will have 2 mg and others 25 micrograms and other none of a certain mineral. Some have Iron, others don't. Vitamins A,D,E, and K are fat soluble which means that they can't be excreted in the urine and get stored in the body if too much is ingested. There are Hypervitaminosis syndromes known for Vitamins A & D, The also probably occur with E & K. All the other vitamins are water soluble and are easily excreted by the kidneys, so that you almost can't get too much of them. In general Americans have the richest urine in the world. Why are there all these differences? Because it is not known for sure how much of each of these vitamins need to be ingested each day in or out of pregnancy.

--
R.Daniel Braun, MD  FACOG
Clinical Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Indiana University School of Medicine
Indianapolis, IN
                                      "Heisenberg might have slept here."
                                          Unknown or maybe Indecisive                                               Unknown

Next message: ejensen: "Measuring during exam"
Previous message: R.: "Re: viable vs nonviable fetus"
In reply to: Erin: "prenatal vitamins"

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