Essential Postnatal Multivitamin is now clinically backed, thanks to a 10-week clinical study six years in the making.

†Based on a 10-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial on 64 breastfeeding women.

Why We Invested in a Clinical Trial

Breastfeeding women are routinely left out of clinical research, despite the significant metabolic demands of lactation and the influence of nutrition on maternal recovery and infant development.1,2 

That means many current nutritional recommendations for lactation are based on pregnancy or general adult data, and not tailored to the unique demands of breastfeeding. Not to mention that women from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds face more barriers to adequate lactation guidance and are further underrepresented in existing research.3,4

Postnatal multivitamins are designed to support women through one of the most crucial times, yet many of them are not backed by a clinical study.

Our Findings

We measured the impact of our Essential Postnatal Multivitamin with a 10-week randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial in partnership with CUNY Brooklyn, Cornell University, and Maimonides Medical Center and made several key discoveries. Essential Postnatal was clinically proven to…

1. Improve breast milk quality. Moms taking Ritual had 106% more Biotin, 26% more Omega-3 DHA, and 23% more 3-FL, a prebiotic human milk oligosaccharide (HMO), in breast milk than the placebo. Biotin supports infant energy metabolism, Omega-3 DHA supports baby’s neurodevelopment and cognitive function, and 3-FL helps support baby’s early gut microbiome development.†*

→ Our clinical trial on Essential Postnatal is one of the first studies to show that a postnatal multivitamin can alter breast milk HMO content by increasing 3-Fucosyllactose (3-FL).†*

Why this matters: 

• Good maternal nutrition during lactation does not just support the mom’s health, it also helps shape the nutritional quality of breast milk. 

• Human milk provides essential vitamins, minerals, calories, and bioactive compounds that support infant growth, immune function, and development, making nutrition during this life stage especially important.5-7

• Biotin supports infant growth and development by acting as a cofactor for enzymes involved in energy metabolism, fatty acid synthesis, and amino acid metabolism, processes that are essential for rapidly growing tissues.8 

• Omega-3 docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) supports infant growth and development by serving as a critical structural component of neuronal and retinal cell membranes and by playing a key role in neurodevelopment, visual acuity, and cognitive function. 

• Breast milk DHA levels naturally fluctuate over the course of lactation, with concentrations generally increasing in early postpartum milk and subsequently declining as lactation progresses, highlighting the dynamic nature of DHA availability to the infant.

• Support mom’s key nutrient demands. Moms taking Ritual had 97% more Biotin and 35% more total Folate in their blood than the placebo.† Biotin contributes to critical steps in the metabolism of fatty acids, glucose, and amino acids; Folate helps the body metabolize proteins.*

Why this matters: 

• Since breastfeeding is metabolically intensive, maintaining good maternal blood nutrient status helps sustain milk production, protects the mother’s health, and optimizes nutrient delivery to the infant.9-12

• Biotin is an important nutrient that helps the body turn food into energy and supports healthy tissues during the demanding period of breastfeeding.

• If folate intake is not high enough, the mother’s body draws on her own folate stores to keep breast milk folate levels up.13 Over time, this can leave the mother with lower folate levels, even if she is not severely deficient.

• Support hair & nails. Moms taking Ritual reported visibly improved hair and nail appearance.†*

• Easy to take. Moms taking Ritual reported it to be easy to swallow and gentle on the stomach.†

Our Study Design

Methodology matters — it’s the differences between a well-designed clinical study that is able to demonstrate proof of claims, and a bogus one.

(You should know, within the supplement industry, the existing regulation around what constitutes a “clinical study” is seriously outdated. Ritual has historically led lobbying efforts for updated regulations.)

The Ritual Essential Postnatal Clinical Study was conducted in partnership with Brooklyn College of the City University of New York (Brooklyn College, CUNY), the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Maimonides Medical Center, and Cornell University. We employed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled design and the study spanned a duration of 10 weeks in newly postpartum mothers. Participants were healthy, newly postpartum (5 weeks) women aged 20 to 42. Maternal blood and breast milk samples were taken at baseline and week 10 of the study.

A total of 64 participants completed the study, with 32 participants in each group. The average age was 33 years old, ranging from 20 to 42 years old. Participants represented a range of educational backgrounds and marital statuses. The sample was racially and ethnically diverse, with 31.3% identifying as Asian, 26.6% as Black, 21.9% as White, and 20.3% reporting another race. Additionally, 70.3% of participants identified as non-Hispanic or Latino, while 29.7% identified as Hispanic or Latino.

Our Clinical Record

Mom and baby’s health during lactation is crucial, and yet so much of the existing research on nutrition, supplementation, and health outcomes often overlook the specific challenges women face during this time.

Ritual’s goal is to change this standard, not just to advance research on our own products, but to advance women’s health research as a whole. Our clinical trial for Essential Postnatal Multivitamin adds to our record of clinical-tested-and-proven products, including:

Essential Prenatal

Essential for Women 18+ Multivitamin

Sleep BioSeries™

Hyacera™ Skin Hydration

We’ve set the public goal of completing clinical trials on 100% of our products by 2030. We’ll also use our advocacy platform to push for more inclusive and comprehensive studies that prioritize women, especially during pregnancy.

Why? Because women deserve care that actually works for them. And that’s what we’re here for.

 

References:

1. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Advancing Clinical Research with Pregnant and Lactating Populations: Overcoming Real and Perceived Liability Risks. National Academies Press; 2024.

2. World Health Organization. Equity and health: the inclusion of pregnant and breastfeeding women in clinical trials. WHO; 2025.

3. Jones KM, Power ML, Queenan JT, Schulkin J. Racial and ethnic disparities in breastfeeding. Breastfeed Med. 2015 May;10(4):186-96. doi: 10.1089/bfm.2014.0152.

4. FDA website. Accessed 2022: https://www.fda.gov/consumers/minority-health-and-health-equity/clinical-trial-diversity 

5. Bravi F, Di Maso M, Eussen SRBM, et al. Dietary patterns of breastfeeding mothers and human milk composition: Data from the Italian MEDIDIET study. Nutrients. 2021;13(5):1722. doi:10.3390/nu13051722.

6. Dror DK, Allen LH. Overview of nutrients in human milk. Adv Nutr. 2018;9(Suppl 1):278S-294S. doi:10.1093/advances/nmy022.

7. Selma-Royo M, González S, Gueimonde M, Chang M, Fürst A, Martínez-Costa C, Bode 

8. Institute of Medicine (US) Panel on Micronutrients. Biotin. In: Dietary Reference Intakes for Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Vitamin B12, Pantothenic Acid, Biotin, and Choline. Washington (DC): National Academies Press; 1998. p. 379-384. doi:10.17226/6015. 

9. Kankaew S, Briere C-E. Maternal Nutrition and Human Milk Nutrients: A Scoping Review. MCN Am J Matern Child Nurs. 2025;50(1):9-17. doi:10.1097/NMC.0000000000001059. 

10. Carretero-Krug A, Montero-Bravo A, Morais-Moreno C, et al. Nutritional Status of Breastfeeding Mothers and Impact of Diet and Dietary Supplementation: A Narrative Review. Nutrients. 2024;16(2):301. doi:10.3390/nu16020301.

11. CDC. Maternal Diet and Breastfeeding (2025). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
    International Breastfeeding Journal. Nutritional Supplements and Mother’s Milk Composition: A Systematic Review of Interventional Studies. Int Breastfeed J. 2020;15:78.

12. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Nutrition During Lactation. National Academies Press; 1991.
    Innis SM. Impact of Maternal Diet on Human Milk Composition and Neurological Development of Infants. Am J Clin Nutr. 2014;99(3):734S-741S. doi:10.3945/ajcn.113.072595.

13. Mackey AD, Picciano MF. Maternal folate status during extended lactation and the effect of supplemental folic acid. Am J Clin Nutr. 1999;69(2):285–292. doi:10.1093/ajcn/69.2.285

†Based on a 10-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial on 64 breastfeeding women.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease