We all know that taking prenatal vitamins is essential for a healthy pregnancy.
During the postpartum period, postnatal vitamins are best to give you all the vitamins your body needs after giving birth.
There is a stark difference between prenatal and postnatal vitamins. They aren’t just simple multivitamins.
Knowing whether you should take prenatal or postnatal vitamins, how long to take prenatal vitamins after birth, or postnatal vitamins after the postpartum period can make your journey into motherhood a little bit easier.
In this article, we’ll discuss the difference between prenatal and postnatal vitamins, when you should take prenatal supplements, whether you can take a prenatal vitamin postpartum, and what vitamins your body needs most after giving birth.
The difference between prenatal and postnatal vitamins
First, taking some sort of supplement is a good idea at any point in your life.
From taking a multivitamin chewy as a child to taking prenatal supplements when pregnant, a postnatal vitamin after giving birth, and taking vitamins that help keep you healthy during the aging process, having a little help meeting your nutritional needs is always good.
However, knowing whether you need to take prenatal vitamins, postnatal vitamins, or something else entirely is a decision you can make only if you know what each type of vitamin does for your body.
Prenatal vitamins
The World Health Organization strongly suggests taking a daily prenatal vitamin as soon as you find out you are pregnant, if not sooner.
Pregnant women need more folic acid and iron than their non-pregnant peers.
Folic acid is one of the essential vitamins needed for the baby’s safe and healthy development. The baby’s brain development is completed mainly with folic acid, and a prenatal vitamin is very high in folic acid.
Iron is also essential because pregnant women have an increased blood volume, meaning the risk of anemia is much higher.
A prenatal vitamin can help supply essential vitamins for your health and baby’s growth.
The need for your red blood cells to grow during pregnancy is significant, and prenatal vitamins help that process.
Postnatal vitamins
Postnatal vitamins are essential to take after delivering your baby for several reasons.
First, different nutrients are needed now that you are no longer pregnant, and many women lack the nutrients they need.
You can study the outlines of foods you should eat that are provided by the Food and Nutrition Board, and you can still end up falling short when it comes to essential nutrients that you need, especially if you have joined the ranks of breastfeeding moms.
Postnatal vitamins after giving birth
Prenatal and postnatal multivitamins are not the same thing.
However, many women take prenatal vitamins after giving birth simply because they know no better.
Breastfeeding moms want to build or keep up their milk supply, so they continue with their prenatal vitamins because they know they need help with nutrient stores outside their daily diet.
They may not know that a prenatal vitamin isn’t giving them optimal health benefits.
Postnatal supplements and postpartum vitamins can help you build up the nutrient stores necessary to keep you healthy and bulk up your immune system.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D supports overall health, which is very important for your body and your little one if you feed your child breast milk. Your milk supply contains antibodies that come from your immune system.
This vitamin, along with a healthy diet, can also help you to avoid or relieve some symptoms of postpartum depression.
B vitamin
Your cells need to regenerate and multiply.
You just gave life to an entire human being. That takes a lot out of you, and your postpartum period is mainly about getting back to ground zero and a place of good health.
B vitamins are mainly present in a postnatal multivitamin and will help you to maintain the increased nutrient demands that breastfeeding women face.
A prenatal multivitamin cannot give you the nutritional benefits of specific vitamins geared explicitly toward the postpartum stage.
How long to take prenatal vitamins after birth
Some doctors recommend prenatal vitamins to take after having a baby if you are not planning to breastfeed your little one and if you are planning to get pregnant again shortly after you are given the all-clear to try to conceive again.
This is because you can get by with prenatal vitamins and not suffer too much nutritional status loss. After all, you aren’t losing so many nutrients through lactation.
You may ask your doctor about your options and if they can recommend some good options or herbal supplements.
Moms who nurse
If you are taking prenatal multivitamins and are nursing, you most likely need to stop and switch to postnatal multivitamins.
You don’t need all of that folate anymore for brain development. Now you need as much help as possible to rebuild your health so that your milk supply is strong and full of antibodies.
Most doctors recommend taking postnatal multivitamins for as long as you are nursing or pumping milk for your baby.
It can help with increased milk supply, postpartum depression, and even postpartum hair loss.
When to stop taking prenatal vitamins
There are some instances in which there is significant evidence that if you take a prenatal vitamin and are of reproductive age, even if you just delivered a baby, it can reap many benefits.
Nursing mothers should think about switching to postnatal vitamins, but if you are formula feeding, and care about women’s health and giving your baby the best version of yourself possible, talk to your doctor about continuing to take prenatal vitamins.
The following are some benefits of taking prenatal vitamins after delivery.
1. Postpartum depression
Certain nutrients and adequate amounts of vitamins can help you with your mood after the delivery of your little one.
For many decades, women experiencing “the baby blues” were left alone to deal with it. Deciding that it was a simple issue of not getting the attention they got during the pregnancy, postpartum depression was dismissed and not taken seriously or dragged into the light of day and normalized until fairly recently.
Now, speaking to your doctor about the signs and symptoms of postpartum depression can help you and your loved ones identify it. You can and should go for help if you feel that you may have this sort of depression associated with the end of pregnancy.
Both you and your doctor can work out a care plan that works for you. Whether help with housework, shared responsibility during feeding schedules at home, additional support, or therapy, never be afraid to ask for help when needed.
2. Postpartum hair loss
For months postpartum, you may notice that you have hair loss.
Clumps left in the shower, thinned hair when you look in the mirror, and less hair that goes into a ponytail are common issues for many women after pregnancy.
Red blood cells are responsible for hair growth. So taking enough iron or extra iron to keep those blood cells healthy, in the form of prenatal vitamins, can help you with the hair loss issues you are experiencing.
3. Calcium deficiencies
Some women on restrictive diets due to lactose intolerance may find that they feel healthier if they take a prenatal vitamin. This is because there is enough calcium in a prenatal vitamin to supplement what you aren’t getting from your restrictive diets that don’t allow for dairy products.
How long can you take a prenatal vitamin if not nursing?
Suppose your own body is not supplying the food for your baby, and you are planning to take a prenatal vitamin for extra nutrients after pregnancy. In that case, most physicians recommend that you continue to take a prenatal vitamin for at least six months postpartum.
Remember that you have gone through something somewhat traumatic. You expelled an entire human from your body.
There was blood loss, stress, loss of nutrients, sleep deprivation, dehydration, poor eating habits, and more in the aftermath.
Your body needs all the nutrients and help it can get after pregnancy.
Getting more help
If you are taking a supplement of some type after your pregnancy ends but would like a little extra help, talk to your doctor and ask for a referral for a registered dietitian. These professionals can help shape and outline meal plans, exercise regimens, supplements, lifestyle changes, and food substitutions you can make for optimal health.
Your pregnancy changed the way you were able to live your life for close to a year. It will take time to return to a place of happiness and health after the pregnancy ends.
Between diaper changes, late nights, and feeding schedules, make sure you make time for yourself and your well-being.
Prenatal and postnatal vitamins
Be sure to speak with your doctor about what supplements or vitamins will be best for you according to your specific situation and needs before, during, and after your pregnancy.
Ask any questions you may have and ask for further help with your health if you think you need it.
Don’t allow yourself to get stuck on the back burner. Taking your health into consideration is one of the least selfish things you can do as a parent.
You need to stay healthy to take good care of your little one.