My husband (33) and I (29) are planning to try in 2-3 years because we’d like to save up a solid buffer fund and have my husband increase his income so that I can afford to stay home and we’d also like to go on more vacations and live it up a bit. That said, even though I’ve never been pregnant because of a decade+ of birth control, if we did get pregnant earlier I’d hate to have missed out on having the best conditions possible for the baby. I thought I’d read before that any woman who would want to keep a pregnancy should take a prenatal just in case, but when I look it up now I see there’s potential side effects of taking too much iron and calcium that I don’t want and a big debate of whether to take folate or folic acid. I THINK from what I’ve read what I want is folic acid and the only “risk” of that is masking vitamin B deficiency but I’ve been improving my diet for cholesterol reasons and already eat a lot of foods with folate so I think that’s fine. Does this all sound right and what if anything do you take while waiting to try so far out? What’s the best only folic acid supplement to take?
What vitamins to take while waiting?
- Thread starter ninaua
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lanternburning
New member
@ninaua In the UK, we're recommended to take 400 micrograms of folic acid (or 5 mg if you have certain medical conditions) and 10 micrograms of vitamin D starting 3 months before conception. I just go to the drugstore and look at the ingredients, then pick the cheapest option!
If you're in the US, the supplements industry is not well regulated so you might want to look into supplement brands which are tested by third parties.
If you're in the US, the supplements industry is not well regulated so you might want to look into supplement brands which are tested by third parties.
@lanternburning Yes I am in the U.S. and definitely also plan to ask a doctor/midwife at the next opportunity what they recommend it just feels like my timeline is simultaneously too far out to where it makes sense to go full gung-ho with preconception level vitamins but you never know when an accident might happen and I want to be covered as best I can just in case to prevent tube defects. I’ll see if the grocery store or pharmacy have just that kind that’s been tested to have something until I can ask a professional.
lanternburning
New member
@ninaua Those doses are safe for everyday use. Folic acid is water-soluble so you'll pee out any excess. Vitamin D is fat-soluble, but it's a small dose compared to what a lot of people take daily. I've personally been taking a prenatal since April 2023 (our TTC date got pushed back a couple of times). I'm with you on not wanting to risk a neural tube defect!
The other thing to consider is supplementing iron if you're deficient, which is more likely if you have heavy periods.
There's minimal evidence for any other vitamins being useful for general health or pregnancy unless you are deficient.
The other thing to consider is supplementing iron if you're deficient, which is more likely if you have heavy periods.
There's minimal evidence for any other vitamins being useful for general health or pregnancy unless you are deficient.
@lanternburning Yeah I’ve never been told I have any deficiencies and I actually am on continuous birth control to not get a period and already struggle with constipation issues so I definitely don’t want an accidental excess of iron since that can make that worse from what I read! I’ll wait on that until told to take it if I’m trying or finding out I’m pregnant since I know it can be good for not being crazy tired early on. I’ve also seen calcium can be good since pregnancy can leach a lot of it and affect your bones and teeth but I’ll wait on that until consulting with someone and planning to try as well since I’ve seen that can increase kidney stone risk with too much and I just had one over Christmas break 
Thank you for the info!
Thank you for the info!@ninaua Thorne and SmartyPants are two brands that are third party tested and use methylated b vitamins. I've taken both and think they're great.
Taking vitamin C (or drinking or eating something rich in vit C like orange juice) with iron will help with iron absorption so you can take less of it. Taking magnesium citrate pills with the iron will help with constipation.
Taking vitamin C (or drinking or eating something rich in vit C like orange juice) with iron will help with iron absorption so you can take less of it. Taking magnesium citrate pills with the iron will help with constipation.
@johnabill I think I’d probably just prefer to wait on iron until actively trying or finding I’m pregnant since I’m mainly concerned about having folic acid since it’s so important for that early development before you even find out.
@ninaua My obgyn recommended that I start a prenatal once I stopped birth control last year. I’ve been taking the Nature Made one with folic acid and dha. You should take them at least 3 months before ttc but there’s no harm in starting them earlier. There are lots of women that have been on them for years while ttc. Of course you should check with your doctor in case you have any other concerns.
@ninaua Just a quick plug (as a male fertilty specialist) to have the male partner do things 'prenatally' to improve their potential sperm quality as well, including a fertility supplement! Easy things like improving diet, exercising regularly, sleeping at least 7 hours a night, decreasing stress (easier said that done!), decreasing smoking/alcohol use, and taking a fertility supplement have all been shown in research can potentially improve sperm quality and ideally improve chances for pregnancy!