Thursday, April 17, 2008

My Prenatal Vitamin Story

As many of you know, I am a 39-year-old mother of 4 children ages 7 to 1.5. The short story is that when my husband and I were trying to get pregnant (8 years and 4 children ago!), I took my Shaklee vitamins into my OB and said, "Is there anything in these that I shouldn't be having while pregnant, and is there anything missing that I will need?" My OB took a look at my bottles and said, "I can't get this for you in a prenatal." I said, "So this would be okay?" She responded while looking over the labels, "This is much better than anything I could get you. These look good."

Now, medical doctors aren't nutritionists, but they do know a pregnant mother needs Folic Acid and many are recommending Omegas these days. Unfortunately, most prenatal vitamins are synthetic and not from whole food sources. That being said, I have also heard 2 OBs speaking on how they used Shaklee for prenatals in their practice for years. Both reported lower preterm birth rates and prenatal complications in those mothers who took the Shaklee vitamins compared to those in their practices who took other prenatals instead.




Important things to consider:

  • If the pregnant mother is experiencing leg cramps . . . she may need more calcium.
  • If the pregnant mother doesn't eat safe fish (wild and contaminate free) 2 + times a week . . . she may not be getting the omegas she needs.
  • If the pregnant mother is feeling nausiated from her current prenatals . . . they may not be digesting properly.
  • If the pregnant mother is using synthetic prenatals . . . they may not be absorbing properly.
  • There are no symptoms of low levels of prenatal folic acid, but it is a critical nutrient for baby.
  • Folic acid and calcium are delicate nutrients that need to be absorbed at the right time during digestion to be effective.
  • Iron taken with vitamin C aides in absorbtion and helps prevent stomach irritation.
  • Low energy in a pregnant mom can be a sign of either iron or protein deficiency.
  • Always talk with your OB about a new prenatal supplement addition or switch.

I hope this helps you or someone you love in the decision to go with Shaklee vitamins as prenatals. I have successfully (and with the blessing of 3 different OB's now) taken them for conception, prenatal, and postnatal/nursing periods. I don't have to change what I'm taking, and I'm getting what the baby and I both need. I have carried all 4 babies to full term and had no complications and they have all had great APGAR scores.

I am here if any of you have any questions about any of this. I am NOT a medical doctor, but I'm always happy to help moms and babies be as healthy as possible. Shaklee products have amazing integrity and they cover nutrition from infancy to golden years. They are a gift to anyone you are willing to share them with in this day of processed and fast food trends.

Blessings,
:) Kaycee Farrell
Littleton, CO
naturesconnection@shaklee.net

For more information on our Shaklee vitamins, please visit our website:
www.shaklee.net/naturesconnection

For more great information about health during pregnancy . . .
click here: http://content.nhiondemand.com/shp/weeklystudies.asp
then enter "pregnancy" into the search box on that page!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good and important nutritional information for every expectant mother.

KayceeFarrell said...

Thanks, Troy! I appreciate the feedback.

Blessings,
:) Kaycee

Anonymous said...

I have no doubt about the quality and integrity of Shaklee vitamins. I have just started to use them this morning for my 4th pregnancy, yet I'd like to share some disappointments:

-The iron level is too low for pregnant women. Given my iron levels have usually been lower during pregnancy, I will eventually have to take a separate supplement. Not that big of a deal, but I was hoping not to have to. Even combining with vitamin C it is not enough. I guess you can't have it all :-)
-I specifically looked for a multivitamin that wasn't a one-a-day to avoid the horse pills. I made the wrong assumption that two pills would mean two smaller pills. I was disappointed when I opened my bottle and realized I'll have to take two horse pills.

My hope, though, is that Shaklee's formula will be more agreeable to my body. That's why I continue to take it.

Dani said...

I am a shaklee fan to begin with, and just found out I am pregnant! I want to continue with Shaklee..but not sure which ones to take...are you referring to the vita-lea? I know you have to take 2...but it only has 400mg of folic acid, not sure thats enough I think you need 600?

Anonymous said...

I need to know what prenatal vitamins aren't synthetic!! I just got some NOW prenatal vitamins and after reading the ingredients I think they are...does anyone know? I was going to buy rainbow light but my order got messed up twice so I went with something else

Bookmark and Share