Since I can't do anything partially, I delved in...and literally spent 4.5 months in rather deep research on supplements.
I read websites, read ingredient lists, interviewed professionals, and even received counseling from a nutrition specialist. As I surveyed products and compared ingredient lists in an Excel file I created for that purpose, my head began to literally explode with conflicting messages. No two supplements were the same. And no two professionals had the same opinion. The vast difference between ingredient lists and opinions was staggering. Drawing conclusions became challenging, if not impossible.
I tried my very best to educate myself on the FDA's recommended daily allowances for pregnant women, and I reviewed my Metric System knowledge of how to convert between micrograms, milligrams, and International Units (the last of which depends on the ingredient, I learned).
Plus, I wanted something natural, not synthetic.
When I brought my clipboard and pencil into the health food store and spent a long time studying and comparing ingredient lists, the owner looked at me suspiciously and even asked me if I was trying to create my own prenatal vitamin. Oops! Oh goodness, no!
For a while, I decided on an over-the-counter, all-natural prenatal vitamin. It supposedly has nothing synthetic in it which should make for better absorption, they say. Plus, few of its ingredients exceeded the daily recommended allowance. Having over 200% of any ingredient makes me leery of overdosing!
Then I went to visit my OB. She did not like that my health food store supplement was not regulated by the FDA. She also did not like that it contained Vitamin A, which--they say--is not good for infants because the baby's organs could have trouble processing that much of the vitamin. So, she gave me a prescription for PreferaOB + DHA. I've been on it now for a few months now, and I feel like my normal self. :)
Please pray with me, dear reader, that I made the best decision for my body and the body of our hopeful future baby.
