No one’s perfect, nutritionally-speaking or otherwise. That’s why prenatal multivitamins are an important part of anyone’s pre-pregnancy toolbox. Most prenatals on the market have been created for one purpose and one purpose only: to help bridge the gap between recommended nutrient levels during pregnancy and what people get from what they eat.*

Leaders in pregnancy health all agree that anyone who’s trying to get pregnant should begin to take prenatals before pregnancy. At Ritual, we think they’re a good idea whether you’re trying, only thinking about trying, or you’re already pregnant.*

So, what are the reasons why taking prenatals before pregnancy are such a must? What are the benefits of taking prenatals before pregnancy? Here’s what you need to know if growing your family is on your mind.*

What Are the Benefits of Prenatals Before Pregnancy?

Pregnancy and nutrition experts recommend taking a prenatal multivitamin at least 1 month before pregnancy, but some research shows it can take longer than that to help build up levels of folate for supporting pregnancy.*

Folate isn’t the only reason why prenatal multivitamins before pregnancy are a good thing. These are some of the top benefits of getting an early start on supplementation.*

1. Building a habit you can stick to through pregnancy.

Forming a new habit takes time. How much time, exactly? Here’s one estimate: A 2010 study identified an average of about 66 days (the range went from 18 to 254). (1)

Starting to take prenatal multivitamins three months before pregnancy (our experts’ recommendation) means you’ll have more than enough practice to make it a habit, plus our delayed-release capsules are designed to dissolve in the small intestine, an optimal place to absorb nutrients.* This is especially important during a time when the body is already preparing to embark on some major changes.

2. Supporting a baby’s neural tube formation when it counts most.*

The fetal neural tube begins developing very early in pregnancy—in weeks 3 and 4. (5) This is before most people even know they’re pregnant.

Folate and choline, which are found in prenatals like Ritual’s Essential Prenatal Multivitamin, are important for supporting fetal neural tube development.*

Because folate and choline play a key role in supporting neural tube development, and the neural tube starts forming so early on, it’s important to take prenatals before pregnancy.*

3. Giving the body enough time to help reach key nutrient levels for pregnancy health.*

Women† in the U.S. often have lower-than-recommended levels of key nutrients before and during pregnancy:

• More than 90% of pregnant people aren’t getting enough Choline from food.* (6)

• Approximately one-third of pregnant women don’t get enough biotin (which contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism)* (7)

• Nearly 40% of women ages 12-21, don’t get enough iron. (8) Iron, along with folate and vitamin B12, contribute to red blood cell formation.*

• Women who eat vegan diets are more likely to have lower levels of vitamin D. Vitamin D is a calcium-helper nutrient and promotes normal calcium absorption.*

Ritual’s Essential Prenatal is formulated with choline, biotin, iron, vitamin D, and 8 other key nutrients in clean, bioavailable forms.*

Reaching key nutrient levels doesn’t just happen overnight. Experts say it can take up to 3 months of supplementation before someone has the key levels of nutrients to support a healthy pregnancy.*

BTW: It’s impossible to know exactly when conception will happen. In fact, the most recent data we could find shows that almost half of pregnancies in the U.S. are unplanned. (2)

Since the timing of conception is so hard to predict—unless you happen to have an ultrasound machine lying around—taking a prenatal before pregnancy helps kickstart the process of upping the body’s levels of key nutrients when its needed most.*

Ready for these (and more) benefits on your TTC journey? We developed Essential Prenatal to support key nutritional needs during pregnancy when you’re thinking, trying, and when it’s time. Our prenatal multivitamin supports*:

• Neural tube development: Folate and choline to support neural tube development.*

• Fetal brain development: Choline, folate, and 350mg omega-3 DHA for supporting fetal brain development.*

• Blood-building: Iron, folate, & vitamin B12 contribute to red blood cell formation.*

• Bone health: Calcium-helper nutrients D3, K2, magnesium, and boron help maintain bone health.*

†As a health company that adheres to standardized nutrition research—which is often reliant on assigned sex at birth—we face some unique challenges regarding our gender-specific messaging. Our decision to use gendered terms is, unfortunately, a result of these limitations in nutrition research. In cases where complying with the binary distinction is necessary for scientific accuracy purposes, we want to make it very clear that we recognize a person’s gender identity might differ from their assigned sex.

References:

1. Lally, P., van Jaarsveld, C.H.M., Potts, H.W.W. and Wardle, J. (2010), How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world. Eur. J. Soc. Psychol., 40: 998-1009. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.674
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023). Unintended Pregnancy. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
3. Xu, J., Xu, M., Bernuci, M. P., Fisher, T. E., Shea, L. D., Woodruff, T. K., Zelinski, M. B., & Stouffer, R. L. (2013). Primate follicular development and oocyte maturation in vitro. Advances in experimental medicine and biology, 761, 43–67. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8214-7_5
4. Singh, R., & Munakomi, S. (2022). Embryology, Neural Tube. StatPearls. Retrieved June 1, 2023, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK542285/
5. The Office of Dietary Supplements. Choline: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals. (2022). National Institutes of Health.
6. The Office of Dietary Supplements. Biotin: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals. (2022). National Institutes of Health.
7. The Office of Dietary Supplements. Vitamin D: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals. (2022). National Institutes of Health.