Wellness » Best Prenatal Vitamins of 2022

Best Prenatal Vitamins of 2022

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From the moment you find out that you’re expecting, there’s a lot to consider — not the least of which is proper nutrition for you and your baby. Unfortunately, even the healthiest, cleanest diet could fall short of the essential nutrients your baby needs for their growth and development. The good news is prenatal vitamins can help you fill in those gaps from day to day. 

What ingredients should you look for?

Your first order of business is to familiarize yourself with the nutrients your baby needs. We spoke with Brittany Lubeck, MS, RD, a registered dietitian and nutritionist to get the deets. “Pregnant women need to ensure some essential nutrients are listed on the label,” Lubeck told Glowsly. “Included among them are folic acid, iron, vitamin D, calcium, choline, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12. Omega-3 fatty acids are also recommended during pregnancy.”

Lubeck went on to explain the importance of those nutrients. “[They] play a vital role in a baby’s development, from organ and bone growth to preventing neural tube defects,” she said. “Ultimately, pregnant women should ensure that these nutrients are a part of the prenatal vitamin they choose.” 

Once you know precisely what you’re looking for, you can get down to business to shop for the best prenatal vitamins for both you and your child.

Note: All vitamins vary in nutritional content. Through our research, we found that no single vitamin can provide every essential nutrient your body needs throughout pregnancy. For example, while some vitamins may contain enough DHA and EPA to meet the daily requirements for your baby, they may fall short on other nutrients, like iron and calcium. This article is simply an informational guide. We suggest consulting with your OB-GYN for specific recommendations. 

Best prenatal vitamins overview

How we chose the best prenatal vitamins

To compile this list, we researched manufacturer specifications, including the micronutrient content of each vitamin versus the recommended daily allowance (RDA), dosage requirements, and more to create a short list of the top prenatal vitamins. We also spoke with experts in the field and combed through detailed product descriptions, ratings, and reviews to find the best prenatal vitamins for each category.

Our picks for the best prenatal vitamins

1
Best overall
One a Day Women’s Prenatal Vitamin 1 with DHA & Folic Acid Multivitamin Softgels
$15.29

What we love

  • Only 1 tablet per day
  • Meets the RDA for folic acid
  • Easy to swallow

What we don’t love

  • Some reviews cited a fishy taste and smell

Things are complicated enough during pregnancy — managing your prenatal vitamins shouldn’t be one of them. As its name implies, One A Day Women’s Prenatal Vitamin 1 keeps things pretty simple. From our research, it seems like no single pill will check every box, but this one comes close. In one pill a day, you’re meeting your RDA for folic acid, iron, and DHA — 800 micrograms, 27 milligrams, and 200 milligrams, respectively. And, the monthly supply cost is pretty reasonable — we don’t expect that it’ll bust any budgets.

Size: 30 soft gels (also available in 60 count) | Daily dosage: 1 pill

2
Best gummy
SmartyPants Prenatal Formula
$22

What we love

  • Chewable
  • According to reviewers, it tastes great
  • Allergen-free formula

What we don’t love

  • Doesn’t contain iron
  • Provides DHA and choline but doesn’t meet the RDA for pregnant women
  • Dosage is 4 gummies daily

Across the board, it was difficult to find a gummy prenatal that meets the daily requirements for all nutrients, but SmartyPants comes close. Since it hits the mark for folic acid, it made our list as the best gummy prenatal vitamin.

Gummies are a great option for those who have difficulty swallowing pills, but it’s worth noting that this gummy (like many others) doesn’t contain iron or calcium. To round out your daily supplements, you may need to speak with your doctor about separate calcium and iron supplements. While this prenatal vitamin contains DHA and choline, the dosage doesn’t meet the requirement for pregnant women. 

A bottle of 80 gummies will run you just under $25, but there’s a subscribe and save option, too — which we always love!

Size: 80 gummies | Daily dosage: 4 gummies

3
Best with DHA
Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega
$28.99

What we love

  • Packed with DHA and EPA
  • Contains naturally sourced DHA and EPA
  • Burp-free formula

What we don’t love

  • A bit pricey
  • Must be used with other vitamin supplements

Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega has generous dosing of DHA and EPA at 450 and 650 milligrams, respectively, so understandably, it hits our list as the best prenatal vitamin with DHA. All in all, it’s a high-quality supplement that’s sourced from fresh, wild-caught omega-rich fish, specifically, wild-caught sardines and anchovies. These vitamins could also be considered the best natural prenatal vitamins on our list, as they’re non-GMO and gluten free and don’t contain any artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives. 

For those with concerns about a fishy aftertaste, Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega comes in a lemon flavor to help prevent such unpleasantness. Some reviewers have even noted that the supplement is fresh, lemony, and easy to digest.

This supplement might be a bit pricey, though, considering it really only provides DHA, EPA, and omega-3s. You’ll probably need another vitamin to round out your RDA for most micronutrients, which could get expensive over the span of a pregnancy.

Size: 60 soft gels | Daily dosage: 2 pills

4
Best tasting chewable
Olly The Essential Prenatal Multi
$15.49

What we love

  • Offers many nutrients
  • Dosage is only 2 gummies per day

What we don’t love

  • Doesn’t meet the RDA for choline or DHA
  • No iron or calcium

It’s one thing to have a chewable vitamin, but it’s a whole other ballgame to have a tasty chewable vitamin. Considering that review after review, people talked about how great Olly’s The Essential Prenatal Multi tastes, it hits our list as the best-tasting chewable.

In every two gummies, you’ll find many of the nutrients you and your baby need, including vitamin A, folate, choline, and DHA. Again, like many other chewable vitamins or gummies, you won’t find iron or calcium, as they can adversely affect the flavor. It’s worth noting that while Olly’s The Essential Prenatal Multi contains choline and DHA, it doesn’t meet the RDA for those essential nutrients.

Size: 60 gummies | Daily dosage: 2 gummies

5
Best vegan
Best Nest Wellness Mama Bird Prenatal Multi+
$36.55

What we love

  • Contains iron
  • Meets folate requirements
  • Only 1 pill a day

What we don’t love

  • Expensive
  • No DHA

For those looking for a prenatal vitamin that’s vegan-friendly, you might consider Best Nest Wellness Mama Bird Prenatal Multi+. Under the cap, you’ll find many of the usual suspects your prenatal vitamin should have, including choline, calcium, iron, and folate.

One notable shortcoming, however, is the lack of DHA. That’s likely because while it can be found in flax seeds and algae, the best sources of DHA are animal sources, including fish and other seafood. To get your RDA of DHA while pregnant, you may have to source another vegan-friendly supplement to fill in the gaps.

Size: 30 pills | Daily dosage: 1 pill

6
Best liquid
MaryRuth’s Prenatal & Postnatal Liquid Multivitamin
$28.77

What we love

  • High choline content
  • Reviewers said it tastes great
  • Ideal for those who can’t swallow pills

What we don’t love

  • No DHA
  • No iron
  • Expensive

If swallowing pills is difficult for you, this liquid multivitamin is easy to get down, and according to some reviews, it tastes great. In your daily 2-tablespoon dose, you’ll get many essential vitamins and minerals your baby needs, including vitamin A, folate, calcium, and vitamin D (as D3). Like many other “edible” entries on our list, MaryRuth’s Prenatal & Postnatal Liquid Multivitamin meets the RDAs for folate but unfortunately comes up a little short on the daily requirements for other essential nutrients, like choline and calcium.

Size: 32 fl oz | Daily dosage: 2 Tbsp

7
Best with folic acid
Nature Made Prenatal Folic Acid
$18.98

What we love

  • Meets the RDA for several nutrients, including folate, vitamin D3, and iron
  • Good value

What we don’t love

  • No DHA
  • Short on calcium

Folic acid is a derivative of folate typically found in fruits, vegetables, and other dietary sources. 

Study after study has shown that folate is crucial for your baby’s health and development. Specifically, research shows that inadequate folic acid intake can lead to neural tube defects, like spina bifida, anencephaly, and other brain and nervous system issues. For that reason, folate supplementation is recommended for any woman of childbearing age. It’s even recommended for those who anticipate becoming pregnant because the neural tubes form and close in the early stages of pregnancy — very often before a woman even knows she’s pregnant. 

Day to day, adults should get about 400 micrograms of folate, while daily RDAs are bumped up to 600 to 800 micrograms during pregnancy. With 800 micrograms of folate per serving, Nature Made’s Prenatal multivitamin hits our list as the best folic acid for pregnancy. While this prenatal vitamin doesn’t have any DHA and comes up a bit short on calcium, it does provide the RDA of iron. It’s also a budget-friendly option — at one tablet per day and 115 tablets per bottle, a roughly $40 expenditure can last almost your whole pregnancy.

Size: 115 tablets | Daily dosage: 1 pill

8
Best subscription
Nurish by Nature Made Prenatal + DHA
$15/month

What we love

  • Affordable subscription option
  • Meets DHA requirements
  • Meets folate requirements

What we don’t love

  • Lacks calcium
  • Some reviewers said packaging isn’t user-friendly

As its name indicates, Nurish by Nature Made Prenatal is a Nature Made product, and like our previous entry, this prenatal vitamin meets the daily requirements for several important nutrients, like folate, iron, and D3. But while the previous entry is missing critical supplements like DHA, the subscription option connects the dots quite nicely. Moreover, while subscriptions often tend to be pricey, this one is pretty affordable at $15 per month.

Size: 30 soft gels | Daily dosage: 1 pill

9
Best trimester-specific
Perelel 1st Trimester Prenatal Pack
$48

What we love

  • Pills and formulas accommodate each stage of your pregnancy
  • Meets DHA requirements
  • Supports mothers (and baby) before and during pregnancy

What we don’t love

  • About 5 pills per day
  • Expensive

Your baby is growing and changing with each passing day, so understandably their nutritional needs will quickly change as well. Understanding that, Perelel has formulated a series of trimester-specific prenatal vitamins that match both your needs and your baby’s needs as your pregnancy progresses. For example, the 1st Trimester Prenatal Pack includes core prenatal supplements, folate, DHA and EPA, and a B6 and ginger capsule to combat nausea.

Perelel’s trimester-specific prenatal vitamins come in prepackaged doses of multiple pills, so you’re unlikely to find any shortfalls. That said, while Perelel’s Prenatal Pack subscription may very well be a comprehensive option, it could end up being quite expensive at just under $50 per month.

Size: 30 packets | Daily dosage: 1 pack (approximately 5 pills)

10
Best iron supplement
Natalist Iron
$20

What we love

  • Time-released
  • Vegan

What we don’t love

  • The dosage is 2 tablets per day

While conducting our research for this article, there was one recurrent theme — little to no iron in most prenatal vitamins. This is pretty interesting because iron plays an important role in your baby’s development, and pregnant women and their unborn babies are quite vulnerable to iron deficiencies. Not only is iron needed to support the fetus and placenta, but your body uses iron to increase your blood volume, which ultimately supplies oxygen to your baby. If you’re not getting enough iron to facilitate these processes, you could end up developing iron deficiency anemia.

While some prenatal vitamins may contain some iron content, more often than not, it doesn’t meet the RDA for pregnant women. Ultimately, if your prenatal vitamin comes up short on iron, you might want to speak to your doctor about a stand-alone iron supplement before incorporating one into your daily routine. 

If your doctor recommends a separate iron supplement, you might consider Natalist Iron. 

This vegan-friendly option comes from timed-release tablets, which slowly release 54 milligrams of iron carbonyl into your body throughout the day. According to the manufacturer, each tablet contains 100% elemental iron, is low toxicity, and is easy on your digestive system.

Size: 45 or 90 tablets | Daily dosage: 2 tablet

How to pick the right prenatal vitamin for you

With so many options in prenatal vitamins, finding the right one can be tough. Generally speaking, content, quality, and serving size are some of the most important considerations. The three experts we spoke to gave us deeper insight.

Nutritional content

Beyond minding the content labels, Dr. Staci Holweger noted that “choosing the right vitamins for a pregnant woman can be tricky, and it’s important to keep in mind that there are no two-size-fits-all prenatal vitamins [since] every woman’s body, and [every] prenatal vitamin, is unique.” 

According to Trista Best, a registered dietitian at Balance One Supplements, “Folic acid and DHA fish oil are two of the most important nutrients for your prenatal vitamins.” She explained that a baby’s spinal cord and brain develop rapidly in the early stages of pregnancy, and that process relies heavily on folic acid. Moreover, that development often occurs before a mom even has a positive pregnancy test, so women should consider taking folic acid as early as a month before trying to conceive.

Beyond folate and DHA, choline, iron, and vitamin D content are also important considerations when shopping for prenatal vitamins. 

Quality 

In terms of quality, Lubeck reminded us how crucial it is to opt for prenatal vitamins that are approved by third-party agencies like USP or ConsumerLab. “Because supplements are not regulated by the FDA, prenatal vitamins that do not have one of these seals could have false or misleading nutrition labels,” she said. “A seal of approval from these and other agencies means that the ingredient list and nutrient label are indeed correct.”

Mind your ABCs 

When modern diets fall short of meeting your daily requirements for certain essential nutrients, prenatal vitamins are a great way to fill in the gaps. Above all else, you should mind the content labels to ensure that the one you choose has what you and your baby need. While vitamins A, B, and C are always important, be sure to look for more critical supplements, like folic acid and DHA. Beyond that, you’ll probably want to consider serving sizes, dosages, and methods of delivery. For a one-and-done prenatal vitamin that checks many of these boxes, try our best overall pick, One A Day’s Women’s Prenatal Vitamin 1.

FAQs

Which prenatal vitamins are best for pregnancy? 

Every prenatal vitamin has its pros and cons, so there’s no one-and-done answer for which prenatal vitamins are best. Ideally, you should familiarize yourself with what you and your baby need throughout your pregnancy, speak with your doctor, then choose accordingly.

What’s the highest-rated prenatal vitamin?

Again, there’s no concrete answer to which prenatal vitamin is the highest rated. After conducting what we feel is a thorough assessment of prenatal vitamins, we chose One a Day Women’s Prenatal Vitamin 1 with DHA & Folic Acid Multivitamin Softgels as the best prenatal vitamin overall. This prenatal vitamin checks quite a few boxes in terms of meeting nutrient requirements. Plus, it’s affordable, and the serving size is only one pill per day, so it offers a lot of bang for your buck in many respects.

What prenatal vitamins do OB-GYNs recommend?

If you search the internet, you’ll likely find plenty of OB-GYNs and recommendations for prenatal vitamins. The problem is that experts can make recommendations all the livelong day, but if they don’t know the specifics of your health and health concerns, they can’t make the best recommendation for you. Ultimately, the only thing that matters is what your personal OB-GYN recommends for you and your baby.