Vegan prenatal vitamins are exclusively made for people whose food are solely from plant sources. With the increasing number of people identifying as vegetarians these days, it is only reasonable that there are prenatal vitamins to meet their nutrient needs.
Vegan prenatal vitamins are made to provide nutrients (vitamins and minerals) to pregnant women and their babies from plant sources alone. Despite the restricted choice of nutrient sources that can be used, producers of vegan prenatal vitamins ensure that they use only plant sources to which people are not allergic.
If you’re in search of a vegan prenatal vitamins, watch out for the ingredients to ensure they do not contain nuts, gluten, or soy if you’re intolerant to nay of these. Also, the natural sweeteners and colorants that are used should be from plant sources.
In this article, we will discuss about the vegan choices that exist in prenatal vitamins. We will also see how vegan prenatal vitamins vary from other prenatal vitamins.
Prenatal Vitamins
If you’re planning to get pregnant, already pregnant, or breastfeeding a child, chances are you already know what prenatal vitamins are. If you don’t, it is the supplement that provides nutrients to you and your baby.
There are different nutrients and they are obtained from different sources. Your daily meals contain some nutrients but it is also inadequate in some. The nutrients that your food so lacks are supplied to your body by the prenatal vitamins. Some of such nutrients include Iron, Folate, magnesium, vitamins A, B, C, D, E, and K.
These nutrients are important in the growth and development of organs and organ functions in your child. It is due to their importance that supplements to support your daily meal is provided.
Importance of Prenatal Vitamins
Prenatal vitamins have one major importance, provision of nutrients. As a pregnant woman, your child has need of vitamins and minerals for its development. Most of these nutrients are available in the foods you eat but not in adequate quantity. The deficiency of these nutrients is even worse when you can’t seem to keep any food in your system due to nausea.
The nutrients these prenatal vitamins provide help in doing two things majorly.
Development of the brain and Spinal Cord
The brain and spinal cord which are central to the effectiveness of the nervous system are built and developed right from the prenatal stage. Folic acid, which is important in making neural tubes and developing the brains is present in every prenatal vitamin you find.
A well-developed brain and spinal cord translate to fast learning for your baby.
Improved immunity
Babies build immunity from the womb. It helps them fight against disease-causing microbes when they get into this part of the word. Vitamin C and D help in achieving this. Some prenatal vitamins also have probiotics that help to facilitate immunity development in babies.
Best Vegan Prenatal Vitamins
Prenatal vitamins that come in pills are known to have the disadvantage of causing nausea – primarily due to their size (which makes it hard to swallow) and casing (usually made from animal-product) – and vegan prenatal vitamins do away with that.
Here are some of the vegan prenatal vitamins to consider when choosing one that provides the required nutrients and cause you less stomach disturbance.
Best Nest Wellness Mama Bird AM/PM
Here is a prenatal multivitamin that is fully loaded and suitable for vegans that are planning to get pregnant, pregnant, or lactating.
Mama Bird AM/PM is made from organic herbs and it includes probiotics and digestive enzymes in its blend. What this means is that when you take this multivitamin, you are free from digestive problems and it gives your child the immunity boost it needs due to the presence of probiotics.
It contains methylated vitamins which gets absorbed faster and give you energy boost on days when you feel weak. It also contains choline (which is not mostly found in prenatal vitamins).
Mama Bird AM/PM is one of the best vegan prenatal vitamins out there but it is also a prenatal vitamin with probiotics. It is recommended that you take it twice daily.
Naturelo Prenatal Multivitamin
Naturelo Prenatal Multivitamin is a dairy free, sugar free, and vegetarian friendly prenatal vitamin. As one of the top vegan prenatal vitamins, it provides the full vitamin and mineral requirement you might according to your stage of pregnancy and motherhood.
Its minerals are made available in chelated forms – Iron as Ferrochel, Selenium as Albion – which makes them easier to absorb and are gentler on the stomach. The vitamins are also presented to the body in their bioactive forms – folate as methyl folate, vitamin B12 as methyl cobalamin.
Most importantly for you as a vegan, all of these nutrients come from plants such as sunflower, kelp, cherry and many more. If you’re looking for a prenatal vitamin with iron that is also vegan, here is one.
Recommendation states that you should take three capsules daily.
Revly Vegan Prenatal Multivitamin
Revly Vegan Prenatal Vitamins is made from a host of organically grown plants such as cabbage, blueberries, kale, peppermint, rose hips, dandelion, lavender, and many more. It contains essential vitamins and minerals to help maintain the mother’s health and improve development in the child.
It also contains probiotics that help to make digestion easy and alleviate stomach disturbances. It also helps in boosting the immunity of the child by introducing live bacteria.
It is recommended that you take two tablets daily, but with food.
Pink Stork Total Prenatal Vitamins
This is another one of the many vegan prenatal vitamins you will find in the market. However, Pink Stork Total Prenatal Vitamins is unlike most prenatal vitamins. It is fully loaded with vitamins and minerals including folate and DHA. It provides you with the total daily micronutrient recommendation as given by FDA at your stage.
It supports your baby’s development by employing folate and DHA in improving brain growth and general development of the nervous system. It also helps the mother live healthier during and after pregnancy by giving her all the required vitamins.
The baby and the mother enjoy improved immunity due to the action of vitamin c and zinc it contains.
Take two vegetarian tablets daily with food.
Deva Vegan Prenatal Multivitamins
This is a vegan-friendly prenatal vitamin. It provides pregnant vegans with the much-needed nutrients for improving and maintaining theirs’ and their child’s health.
Deva Vegan prenatal vitamins avoid the use of fat-soluble vitamins but instead make vitamins available in water-soluble forms. Vitamin A is available as beta carotene, Vitamin E as d-alpha, vitamin D as vitamin D2. However, vitamin K is available in its fat-soluble form only at levels that it won’t cause toxicity.
This vegan prenatal vitamin also contains the all-important folic acid and vitamin B12. It is completely animal-free and registered by the Vegan Society.
Conclusion
It is difficult for pregnant people who prefer their food from plant sources to get the needed nutrients without compromising on their diet stance. However, that has been taken care of since the production of vegan prenatal vitamins.
These supplements provide as much nutrients as the other options give, if not more. Now, there is no reason for a vegan mum to feel guilty for not being able to give their child the nutrient it needs.
