The Best Holistic Prenatal Vitamins: A Step-By-Step Guide to Customized Nutrition in Pregnancy
Meeting your nutritional needs during pregnancy should be as simple as taking a daily prenatal vitamin…right? If only it were this easy.
Moms who experience pregnancy cravings (and ravenous hunger during pregnancy) know this advice is a far cry from reality. Although we live in a world of instant gratification, we cannot apply this principle to our health.
Most of your nutrition during pregnancy should come from diet—a strategic blend of whole foods that target nutritional deficiencies and supply rich doses of minerals and vitamins, across the board.
So where do prenatal vitamins come in?
For some women, first-trimester nausea makes eating a balanced diet extremely difficult. And this can feel scary, especially when you’re nourishing two people.
Other women may struggle with widespread nutritional gaps—and discover taking a prenatal vitamin is a lot easier than consuming their entire supplement drawer.
Additionally, prenatal vitamins can help women on a strict budget to feel whole and healthy and to prioritize their family (mom guilt be gone).
Let’s dive into the purpose behind prenatal vitamins, when to take them, and explore some of my favorite holistic prenatal vitamins.
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A Food-First Approach to Prenatal Wellness
Functional testing is the first step toward wellness with any client. Especially in pregnancy, we need to understand exactly what nutrients you’re missing (instead of blindly throwing the dart with a prenatal and hoping for the best).
Tests like an HTMA (Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis), a Comprehensive Blood Chemistry Panel, and a Micronutrient Test Panel can give insight into your mineral stores and any stressors that are depleting nutrients in your body. With this knowledge, we can create a personalized nutrition plan with whole foods that target your body’s individual needs. We’ll call this your “custom prenatal” plan.
Building a custom prenatal plan is one of the first things I do with my clients. It’s so important to target your pregnancy health with a holistic approach to eating and supplementing well—one that considers your baby’s growth and your own postpartum needs.
I typically provide meal plans, shopping lists, and supplement recommendations that focus on restoring mineral levels while setting your hormones up for success. The tools you gain through this process can be implemented well into parenthood, too, and should allow you to feel more present, energized, and stable as a mom.
Create Your Custom Prenatal Plan: Nutrient-Dense Foods to Eat During Pregnancy
High-quality ancestral foods that are responsibly sourced contain a lot more nutrients than conventional foods. These are my tried-and-true recommendations to naturally support prenatal health.
Food | Nutrients It Provides | Other Things You Should Know |
Fresh or desiccated beef liver | Vitamin B12, vitamin A, folate, zinc, riboflavin, copper, iron, and choline. | Nature’s multivitamin! You can cook liver at home or consume it desiccated (in pill form). |
Pasture-raised eggs | Choline, vitamin A, vitamin E, fatty acids, vitamin D, and beta-carotene. | Check out this study for a nutrient comparison of eggs that come from commercially-raised chickens versus pasture-raised chickens. |
Raw and grass-fed dairy | Iron, calcium, vitamin K, vitamin D, probiotics, vitamin A, linoleic acid, fatty acids, zinc, and phosphorus. Protease and lipase enzymes aid with the digestion of fats and protein. | Especially when pregnant, it’s important to talk with your farmer and ensure you’re getting high-quality grass-fed dairy that’s raised responsibly. |
Bone broth | Magnesium, vitamin K2, iron, zinc, vitamin A, phosphorus, calcium, manganese, zinc, and selenium. | Gelatin and glycine (also in bone broth) can help calm inflammation in the gut. A great solution to nausea and gut symptoms. |
Gelatin | Potassium, zinc, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, amino acids, glycine, proline, and collagen. | It’s easy to make your own gelatin gummies or gelatin fruit leather. Among its many benefits, gelatin is a great resource to protect your skin and hair during pregnancy. It can also curb acid reflux. |
Cod liver oil | Vitamin D, vitamin A, fatty acids, and antioxidants. | Make sure to find a brand that’s minimally processed (or cold-pressed!) I like Rosita Cod Liver Oil. |
Shellfish | Vitamin B12, fatty acids, zinc, copper, and selenium. | It’s recommended to avoid uncooked shellfish when pregnant, to avoid bacteria. Make sure it’s wild-caught and (preferably) local. |
Bee pollen | Flavonoids, vitamin E, vitamin A, vitamin D, amino acids, polyphenols, glutathione, carotenoids, and quercetin. | Check out this study to learn more about the therapeutic benefits of bee pollen. A word of caution for bee pollen: it can cause uterine contractions in pregnancy, so make sure you either use it pre-pregnancy or talk with your doctor before supplementing. |
Remember, you’re growing an entire human, and your body is facing increased nutritional demands. A diet of nutrient-rich foods is key to staying vibrant, functional, and energized during pregnancy—and can have a significant impact on your baby’s growth and development.
Why Take a Prenatal Vitamin?
Prenatal vitamins can be a polarizing topic. Some health enthusiasts prefer beef liver and whole foods, rather than a supplement that could risk exposure to synthetics. Meanwhile, the conventional approach elevates prenatal vitamins above diet.
I prefer a balanced approach. It’s totally possible to prioritize a whole foods diet and find a holistic prenatal supplement (with no synthetics!) to help support your pregnancy.
Here are some reasons you might consider a prenatal vitamin:
It can help fill nutritional gaps for women with widespread deficiencies.
A holistic prenatal vitamin offers nourishment in cases of severe nausea or food aversions.
If you travel often or are constantly on the go, a prenatal can provide nutrients on busy days.
If you’re on a tight budget and can’t afford a customized supplement plan, a holistic prenatal vitamin can work as a substitute.
Those who are new to a traditional diet may need to build up their confidence before consuming things like raw dairy, shellfish, and bone broth. A prenatal can help fill nutritional gaps along the way.
Some women have less access to whole foods. If you’ve just moved or you’re still building connections with local farmers, a holistic prenatal vitamin can help along the way.
If it’s your first pregnancy or if you’ve dealt with nutrient deficiencies in the past, taking a prenatal can help ease your anxiety and make you feel more supported.
Are you recovering from stress or a chronic illness? Stress and sickness tend to deplete mineral and vitamin stores in the body, so consuming a prenatal can really help you restore balance to your body during pregnancy.
Folic Acid vs. Folate in Prenatal Vitamins
Folate is a nutrient that helps to form the neural tube—which means it’s a must-have for early and pre-pregnancy. Obtained through supplements and food, folate can help prevent birth defects, especially those pertaining to the brain and spinal cord.
You may have heard folate used interchangeably with something called folic acid. This is because folic acid is the synthetic version of folate. It’s made in a lab and included in many generic prenatal supplements and fortified foods.
I find that folate is a lot more absorbable and helpful for my clients and I don’t recommend folic acid (especially for clients with the MTHFR gene, who may not even be able to absorb it). Using folate helps to ease pregnancy concerns, and doesn’t come with any added synthetics or toxins that could impact you or your baby.
The Best Holistic Prenatal Vitamins, Ranked
These toxin-free prenatal vitamins contain bioavailable ingredients and minerals to help you thrive (no dyes, fillers, or synthetics). I’ve listed them in order with my absolute favorites at the top. The Seeking Health and Fullwell brands, particularly, have higher-end ingredients with nutrients that are easy to absorb.
Seeking Health Optimal Prenatal
The Seeking Health Optimal Prenatal contains methylated folate—which is an active (and super absorbable) form of folate. It’s my top recommendation in general, but especially for moms with the MTHFR gene who may struggle to metabolize folate.
Not only that, but it contains some of the highest-quality prenatal ingredients on the market. It’s great for nausea, gentle, supportive, and helps to ease anxiety during every stage of pregnancy.
Key ingredients include: bioavailable B12, vitacholine, milk thistle, active folate, and vitamin K2 (which can be difficult to consume without a traditional diet).
Fullwell Fertility Prenatal
The Fullwell Fertility Prenatal is one of my top recommendations for pregnant moms. This brand goes through a rigorous testing process to ensure it’s non-GMO and free of heavy metal contaminants. Seriously, they’re so transparent that you can email them to see the testing results of each bottle.
The nutrients included are bioavailable (which means they’re optimized to absorb into the body) and contain higher levels of choline, calcium, and magnesium than other brands.
Organic Olivia Natal Nourish
The Natal Nourish holistic prenatal vitamin uses primarily herbs to feed you and your baby. Things like nettle, yellow dock root, raspberry leaf, and red clover flower. It’s specifically designed to harness Eastern medicine practices—with the goal of balancing and strengthening internal organs.
The herbs used are high quality, organically grown, and some are harvested from the wild. I recommend taking this prenatal alongside a meat-rich diet or desiccated liver supplements.
Perfect Supplements Prenatal
I love Perfect Supplements Prenatal (and all of their other supplements, too!). They’re a quality-driven brand that’s ethically sourced, and they regularly test their products for contaminants. Beef-based products are grass-fed and none of the ingredients are synthetically made. Their prenatal vitamin is easy to pair with a liver supplement or the Perfect Supplements Organ Blend.
Earthley Nourish Her Naturally
At our house, we love using the Earthley skincare products—they’re so high quality and effective. But their prenatal is great, too! It uses a blend of natural herbs like nettle leaf, dandelion, spearmint, raspberry leaf, and alfalfa. It also goes through a testing process to ensure it’s free of heavy metals.
Just like other herbal prenatal supplements, I recommend pairing this one with organ supplements, raw dairy, pasture-raised eggs, and bone broth—so you’re getting vitamins and minerals from animal sources, too.
Needed Optimal Prenatal
The Needed Optimal Prenatal offers high doses of vitamins and minerals—better fit to support whole body health during pregnancy. In my experience, the adequate intake (AI) recommendations for pregnant women just aren’t sufficient to support two growing humans—especially with low-quality soil and highly processed diets in play.
I love Needed because it provides much higher nutrient doses. Additionally, it leaves out big biological competitors (like Iron), offers glycine for digestion, and methylated folate for optimal folate absorption.
Ancient Nutrition Prenatal
If you struggle with anxiety or high stress during pregnancy, the Ancient Nutrition Prenatal contains adaptogens to help your body adapt to higher levels of pressure and stress. This supplement contains a mixture of vitamins and minerals from plant sources, alongside beef liver. It’s not synthetically created, and it’s formulated to be gentle on sensitive stomachs.
Baby and Me 2
The Baby and Me 2 holistic prenatal vitamin is fairly inexpensive, so it’s great for moms on a budget. It focuses specifically on choline and methylated folate nutrients—with farm-to-table veggies (like broccoli, carrots, and cabbage). For quality, it’s tested for pesticides and glyphosate.
Build Your Own Holistic Prenatal Vitamin and Supplement Plan
Prenatal vitamins absolutely have their place in a healthy pregnancy, but it’s important to remember that everyone’s nutrition needs are different. I often work with clients to find a healthy way to incorporate prenatal vitamins into their nutrient-dense diet.
It’s totally possible to create your own custom prenatal vitamin with whole foods and supplements, too. Our ancestors relied on food (and their own intuition!) to support pregnancies for thousands of years—they didn’t need something pre-made.
Whether you prefer to start with a holistic prenatal vitamin and build your diet around that, or you’d rather start with diet and then fill the gaps—know that I’m here to support you. Let’s work alongside your budget, intuition, and resources to create the best custom plan for your pregnancy.
What to Avoid in a Prenatal Vitamin
Prenatal vitamins are a tricky business. While they have the capacity to be incredibly helpful for energy, wellness, and cellular health, they can also be really harmful. A lot of prenatal supplements contain toxins, fillers, synthetics, and even heavy metals.
Here are some things to avoid when shopping for a prenatal vitamin:
Prenatal vitamins that make you feel overly nauseous. If you already struggle with morning sickness, you don’t need a prenatal to make it worse. Focus on whole foods and find a holistic prenatal vitamin that’s easier on your stomach.
Synthetically created vitamins. These are usually not bioavailable to your body.
Folic acid. Especially for people with the MTHFR mutation, folic acid may not be able to metabolize and it could be left in the body with nowhere to go.
Dyes and fillers. There’s no reason to include these in a prenatal vitamin—and they expose you and your baby to unnecessary toxins.
Keep in mind, there isn’t a lot of accountability in the supplement industry. Look for brands that do their own testing for mycotoxins, pesticides, glyphosate, heavy metals, and other contaminants—and ensure quality processing is high on their priority list.
It Can Take a Woman Up to Ten Years to Replenish Nutrient Stores After Pregnancy
With my own clients, I believe nourished is always best—even if you feel like you’re going overboard with prenatal vitamins and other supplements. It can take a woman up to ten years to replenish pre-pregnancy nutrient stores—and this can deeply impact wellness and functionality on a day-to-day level.
When you’re a mom, you want to offer the best of yourself to your children (born and preborn). Holistic prenatal vitamins are just one way you can do that. They provide energy, peace of mind for your baby’s growth and development, and should even help set you up for postpartum recovery.
Looking to dive deeper into whole foods, nutrition, and wellness you can feel?
Get your own customized nutrition plan for pregnancy.
Disclaimer: This website does not provide any medical advice and is not intended as a substitute for the advice provided by your healthcare professional. I am not a doctor nor do I claim to be, and nothing you read here should be taken as medical advice.
