7 key nutrients to look for in your prenatal supplement

Confused about which prenatal supplement to choose? In this blog post, we break down the 7 most important nutrients to look for, so you can feel confident you’re giving your body (and baby) the best start possible. Keep reading to find out what really matters when it comes to prenatal nutrition.

Given eggs and sperm take around three months to fully mature and develop, you ideally want to start using a prenatal vitamin at least three months prior to trying to conceive. Think of this as your window of opportunity - any positive changes you make to your own health during this time will have flow-on effects for your future child, while any nutrient deficiencies or gaps can have negative consequences. 

While of course you want to obtain key nutrients from your diet, pregnancy increases your requirements for some essential micronutrients which can make it difficult to meet your needs through diet alone. Given an inadequate intake of certain nutrients has been linked to poorer pregnancy outcomes and health consequences for your baby, you definitely want to be prioritising a healthy diet, alongside an effective prenatal supplement which covers the essential nutrients you need to support a healthy pregnancy and baby.

Remember, often by the time you realise you’re pregnant it’s too late to compensate for nutrient gaps, so a proactive approach to prenatal supplementation is always the safest bet!

Let’s dive into some of the most important nutrients to ensure you’re getting from your prenatal multivitamin.

1. Folate

Folate is one of the most crucial nutrients needed to support a healthy pregnancy and baby, and it’s difficult to consistently get enough from your diet alone. 

Folate is required to support the healthy growth and development of a foetus once you fall pregnant, as well as facilitating DNA replication and healthy red blood cell formation. During pregnancy, you need more folate owing to the additional needs of the baby developing inside you - which means your dietary intake is likely to be inadequate. Folate deficiencies can have severe consequences for both mother and baby’s health, leading to possible congenital abnormalities and neural tube defects in your baby, and conditions like anaemia and peripheral neuropathy in the mother. 

A baby’s neural tube forms within the first 28 days of conception, so it’s essential to ensure you’re consuming enough folate during this time to facilitate and support this process. However, many women don’t realise they’re pregnant until after this timeframe, making it too late to increase their folate consumption. This is one of the main reasons why supplementation in advance of conceiving is so crucial. Neural tube defects, such as spina bifida, result in a baby’s spine and spinal cord failing to develop properly, causing severe long-term health consequences.

Luckily, prenatal supplements containing folate have been shown to reduce the risk of neural tube defects in your baby, prevent the child’s risk of heart abnormalities and cleft palate, and lower the mother’s chance of developing anaemia or experiencing miscarriage, preterm delivery and low birth weight. You will typically find this written on your prenatal multivitamin as folic acid, folinic acid or methyl folate. Ensure that your prenatal multivitamin includes 500 micrograms. (And psst. please speak to an experienced healthcare professional if you are unsure which type of folate supplement will suit you the best. I know it’s a huge topic and it will need to have it’s own dedicated blog post to come!).

Folate is one of the most important nutrients to check for in your prenatal supplement. It should be taken for a minimum of one month before trying to conceive (but a time frame like three months is ideal!), and continued throughout pregnancy and during the postpartum period.

2. Iodine

Iodine is needed during pregnancy to support your child’s brain development, yet many pregnant women are at risk of iodine deficiency. Iodine is required for the healthy growth of your baby’s brain and nervous system, as well as the development of their five senses, and coordination. Deficiency during pregnancy can have negative effects on both mum and bub’s health, and has been linked with impaired neurodevelopment and cretinism in children, as well as some pregnancy complications. 

During pregnancy, your iodine needs again increase due to higher thyroid hormone production, foetal requirements, and increased iodine excretion, leaving pregnant women at greater risk of deficiency. 

Dietary iodine intake alone is unlikely to consistently meet these increased needs. Supplementation has been shown to help prevent deficiencies, with women recommended to start using iodine-containing prenatal supplements before conception, and continue during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Your prenatal multivitamin should contain at least 150 micrograms of iodine, though some will contain up to 270 micrograms per daily dose (as this is the RDI during lactation, when iodine demands are actually the highest, even higher than they are during pregnancy!).

3. Choline

Choline plays an essential role in multiple different physiological processes happening within the prenatal period. It contributes to the development of the baby’s placenta, spinal cord and brain, and helps prevent birth or neural tube defects. It also plays a role in supporting cell division and growth, and the healthy development of the hippocampus (a region of the brain responsible for memory and learning). 

Choline influences gene expression, and helps produce a neurotransmitter required for healthy brain function and development - so it’s extremely important during pregnancy. Yet many prenatal multivitamins don’t contain any choline - something you should definitely check on the product label. If you can’t get a prenatal multivitamin with choline, it may be worthwhile adding an extra choline supplement alongside your multi.

Getting enough choline during pregnancy can improve pregnancy outcomes and help ensure proper functioning of the placenta, which provides blood and nutrient supply to your growing baby. If the placenta isn’t functioning optimally, this can result in impaired growth, preeclampsia and other pregnancy complications. Choline deficiency during pregnancy can have lasting consequences for your child’s brain development and function, and general health.

Very few adults meet their choline requirements through diet alone. A research paper published in 2019 estimated that only around 10% of Australian adults had an adequate intake from their diet! This is why it’s essential that your prenatal supplement should help fill this void. Ideally, your supplement should help you out with at least half your choline needs, which means it needs to contain at least 200mg of choline per daily dose. Again, your needs increase during pregnancy and even further during breastfeeding (!!), so make sure you’re using a prenatal that supports your requirements, or really consider taking an extra choline supplement.

4. Vitamin D

Vitamin D’s contribution to the health outcomes of both mum and baby is significant. This vitamin is required to keep yours and your baby’s heart, bones and teeth healthy, and to allow your growing bub to absorb the right amounts of calcium and phosphate they require. Vitamin D also supports the development of the foetus’ kidneys and nervous system, and plays a big role in immune function and bone metabolism.

During pregnancy, a mother’s vitamin D levels must increase significantly, to levels which would potentially be considered toxic to a non-pregnant person (isn’t the human body wild!). This is needed to support the baby’s skeletal development, tooth enamel formation, and general growth and development. Adequate vitamin D intake is linked to improved birth weight and pregnancy outcomes, while deficiency can cause seizures, rickets, impaired growth, adverse pregnancy outcomes and problems with bone density, immune function and infection risk.

During breastfeeding, the mother continues to provide the majority of the baby’s vitamin D supply, meaning you experience increased requirements throughout both pregnancy and lactation. So a deficiency in a mother’s vitamin D intake is relevant to deficiency in the child. 

For optimal vitamin D supplementation during preconception, pregnancy and breastfeeding, it can be helpful to have a vitamin D blood test to identify how much to supplement to either increase or maintain your vitamin D status. Many prenatal multivitamins do not contain a high enough dose of vitamin D to properly address sub-optimal or deficient vitamin D status, so test your levels and choose your supplement carefully.

5. Vitamin B12

Vitamin B12 is a vital nutrient during pregnancy, required for healthy brain and nervous system development in the growing foetus. It is especially important in supporting the formation of the neural tube and reducing your risk of neural tube defects, working synergistically with folate in these critical early stages of development. Folate and B12 are both necessary for DNA synthesis and cell division, making their combined presence essential for embryonic growth.

In addition to its neurological role, vitamin B12 is necessary for the production of healthy red blood cells, functioning alongside iron to transport oxygen throughout the body. Without adequate B12, red blood cell production becomes impaired, potentially leading to a type of anaemia called megaloblastic anaemia. This condition can cause symptoms such as fatigue and weakness in the mother and may affect oxygen delivery to the baby.

Children born to mothers with inadequate vitamin B12 intakes during pregnancy have been found to be at greater risk of impaired development and brain function, neural tube defects, and growth abnormalities. Vitamin B12 deficiency has also been associated with pregnancy complications, such as pregnancy loss and low birth weight.

Given the important interactions between B12, folate, and iron, it's critical to ensure your prenatal supplement provides adequate levels of this nutrient, particularly for those following vegetarian or vegan diets where B12 is naturally limited - you cannot obtain vitamin B12 from plant foods.

6. Vitamin B3

Vitamin B3, or niacin, has been shown to potentially reduce the risk of miscarriages, certain birth defects and abnormalities, with deficiencies linked to an increased risk of congenital abnormalities in babies. Infants (and adults!) need vitamin B3 to produce energy, allow communication between cells, and repair gene damage, yet many pregnant women have low levels of this vitamin during the first trimester - at which stage the baby’s organs have begun to develop.

Vitamin B3 supplementation has been found to have a potentially positive impact in reducing the risk of miscarriage and birth defects. Please don’t go overboard though, as excessive consumption of niacin during pregnancy can also possibly have adverse impacts. Choose a reputable prenatal multivitamin and if you have any concerns, consult with a health professional for assurance that your prenatal multi contains optimal dosages to ensure the safety and health of both mum and bub. The RDI (recommended dietary intake) of niacin during pregnancy is 18mg per day.

7. Zinc

Zinc is another nutrient which plays various roles in the healthy development of a baby, including facilitating the formation of the embryo on conception, as well as cellular signalling, gene expression, brain development, and protein synthesis. Importantly, zinc is also involved in follicle development and egg quality in women, which are key determinants of fertility outcomes. Ensuring optimal zinc status before conception can help support ovulation and improve the chances of successful fertilisation.

Zinc also plays a crucial role in supporting immune system function, acting as a cofactor for many enzymes involved in immune response. During pregnancy, a robust immune system helps protect both the mother and developing baby from infections and inflammatory responses that could interfere with healthy development.

A mother’s zinc intake may have direct effects on the baby’s growth and birth weight and their immune system development, with deficiencies linked to adverse pregnancy outcomes including labour complications, preterm delivery and low birth weight. Counter to this, increasing zinc intake by taking a supplement containing zinc may potentially reduce the risk of preterm birth, although further studies are needed to determine the significance of zinc supplementation in this regard.

Choosing a prenatal supplement containing an adequate amount of zinc to complement your food sources can help you achieve an optimal intake during preconception, pregnancy and breastfeeding to support egg quality, maternal health and infant growth and development.

Frequently Asked Questions about prenatal supplements

When should I start taking a prenatal supplement?

Ideally, you should begin taking a prenatal supplement a minimum of one month prior to conception, but ideally I recommend aiming for three before starting trying to conceive. This allows time to build up stores of essential nutrients like folate, iodine, and choline that support egg and sperm quality, early embryonic development, and neural tube formation.

Can I get all the nutrients I need from food alone during pregnancy?

While a balanced diet is absolutely essential, it can be difficult to meet the increased demands of pregnancy through food alone. Certain nutrients such as folate, iron, iodine, choline, and vitamin D are commonly underconsumed, and supplementation helps to fill these critical gaps.

What if I have dietary restrictions like vegetarianism or veganism?

If you follow a vegetarian or vegan diet, you may have an increased need for nutrients like vitamin B12, iron and zinc. A personalised consultation with a qualified fertility nutritionist can ensure your supplement plan addresses your unique dietary needs.

These are just some of the key nutrients and considerations to look out for when choosing a prenatal supplement. 

It’s also important to understand how much of each nutrient you require before, during and after pregnancy to support the health of both mum and baby, and facilitate optimal development and growth of the foetus throughout every stage. 

Given your requirements for these important nutrients increase during pregnancy, often diet alone is inadequate to ensure the healthy development of your future baby, so supplementation plays a very real and important role before, during and often after pregnancy. 

If you want to ensure you’re using the most effective prenatal supplement to prevent any nutrient voids in your diet, and feel confident in your preconception prep, book in for a prenatal supplement consultation today. You’ll walk away with a detailed supplement plan tailored to your specific needs and circumstances.

We will find the right supplement for your individual needs, and make sure we’re covering all the essential nutrients to optimise during this time. And remember, it’s never too soon to start planning and supplementing! Ideally, you want to begin your prenatal at least three months before trying to conceive. So safeguard the health of yourself, and your baby, and get personalised supplementation advice so you can feel confident in your preconception plan.

Book your personalised prenatal supplement consultation now.