Doctors recommend that pregnant women take a specially formulated prenatal vitamin during their pregnancy to ensure that the mother and baby get all the necessary nutrients. However, many women battle nausea commonly known as “morning sickness” during the first several months of their pregnancy. Popping a large pill will often make the nausea worse.
To stomach the prenatal vitamin, try taking it at a different time of the day than usual. Some pregnant women say that their nausea tapers off during the late evening hours. If this is true for you, try taking the vitamin shortly before you go to bed.
Always remember to eat something along with the vitamin. Even when you are not pregnant, taking a pill on an empty stomach will often make you nauseated. Try to get some crackers or bread down with your pill to help deter potential nausea.
If you still cannot keep your vitamin down, talk to your doctor or midwife about alternatives. Sometimes it is the iron in the vitamin that makes it hard to stomach. Ask about switching to an iron-free formula. Many doctors will recommend over the counter prenatal vitamins and some will even have women take children’s chewables if that is all their stomach can handle.
