There’s a lot to consider at the start of pregnancy—and if you follow a vegan diet, questions about diet and choosing a prenatal multivitamin that fits your lifestyle are probably particularly top-of-mind. The good news: While we recommend chatting with your ob-gyn to ensure that your diet is providing the nutrition that you and baby need, finding a high-quality, vegan prenatal multivitamin to fill key nutrient gaps is one thing you can definitely check off your list.*

What Key Nutrients Should Vegans Look For in a Prenatal Multivitamin?*

You probably know that while you can get a lot of the important nutrients through a balanced diet, you have to be wary about others. That’s true whether you’re pregnant or not, but practicing extra caution when you’re expecting isn’t a bad idea. A 2015 review from the International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology notes that while it’s possible to support a healthy pregnancy with a vegan or vegetarian diet, when shopping for a prenatal supplement, it’s important for pregnant women to pay attention to three nutrients in particular.

1. Let’s start with omega-3 fatty acids, which support brain health—and prenatal DHA provides support as a baby develops. It’s not always easy for vegans to get enough omega-3 through diet alone, since a primary source is fish. On that note, the struggle with finding a vegan-friendly DHA supplement is that many capsules on the market use fish oil.*

Look for: a prenatal multivitamin that uses vegan DHA sourced from microalgae—like our Essential Prenatal.

2. Next up: vitamin B12, the eternal struggle for vegans and vegetarians everywhere. (We can practically hear the groans.) B12 is a key player in cell reproduction, and an essential nutrient. The problem? It’s found mostly in animal products (aka meats).

Look for: a vegan-friendly prenatal multivitamin that uses a synthesized methylcobalamin form of B12—aka a version of the nutrient that’s made in a lab.

3. Iron needs are something else to consider, since iron teams up with vitamin B12 and folate to build red blood cells. Vegans can have a tricky time getting enough iron to begin with, since iron-rich food sources include eggs and shellfish. And since nutritional needs increase during pregnancy, it’s wise to look to supplementation.*

Look for: a vegan-friendly prenatal vitamin with a gentle, chelated form of iron.

While those are the three nutrients worth flagging for vegans specifically, we also recommend looking for nine others in a vegan prenatal multivitamin: folate, choline, vitamin D, iodine, biotin, boron, vitamin E, vitamin K2, and magnesium.

Nutrient Form Matters in a Vegan Prenatal

Whether you're vegan or not, it's really important to ensure that the body is getting key nutrients.* We already mentioned iron and B12, but let's talk about folate, a B-vitamin that's especially important for a baby's neural tube development. You might be thinking, "What about folic acid?" But actually, folic acid is a synthetic form of folate that might not be as easy for a body to efficiently utilize. In fact, up to 40% of women have a genetic variation that makes it difficult to efficiently utilize certain forms of folate such as, folic acid. We use a form of folate called 5-MTHF in our Essential Prenatal, which is the active form of folate and is the primary circulating form of folate in the body.*

Another issue with some prenatals: adding nutrients that don't necessarily need supplementing. Let's use vitamin C as an example. It's really important for our health, don't get us wrong. But it's also very easy to meet vitamin C needs through diet alone, even if you're pregnant—and overdoing may affect with the absorption of others. Calcium is another one. Contrary to popular belief, many of us don't need to be supplementing with more calcium than what we already get from our diets—and that includes pregnant women. Instead, we recommend focusing on calcium-helper nutrients like vitamin D3, magnesium, vitamin K2, and boron. (You'll find all of these in Essential Prenatal.)*

What About the Capsule?

It’s kind of pointless to look for vegan-friendly nutrients if they’re housed in a gelatin soft gel capsule, right? Our Essential Prenatal is vegan-friendly, non-GMO, and gluten-free, and uses a capsule made from hypromellose, a plant fiber made from tree bark. (It’s also designed to be delayed-release to dissolve in the small intestine, an optimal place to absorb nutrients.) On top of the capsule, keep an eye out for any additives that might not be so vegan-friendly.*

All in all, creating a high-quality prenatal multivitamin that helps fill key nutritional needs is central to our DNA—our founder is vegan, and started Ritual when she struggled to find a prenatal multivitamin that met her standards. So while you should always loop in your doctor to ensure you’re doing everything right for you and baby, know that we created our Essential Prenatal Multivitamin with you in mind.*

Don't Forget About Protein

Sure, supporting micronutrient needs during pregnancy can be made easier with a prenatal multivitamin. But it's also important to focus on macronutrient needs (protein, carbs, fats), too—and for vegans, getting enough quality protein can be a challenge. By "quality," we mean consuming a complete amino acid profile. The thing is, some plant-based protein sources come up short on certain essential amino acids, and are therefore considered "incomplete."*

It's why we formulated a protein supplement for this life stage specifically. Essential Protein Pregnancy & Postpartum features pea protein fortified with the amino acid l-methionine to create a complete amino acid profile. Plus we added choline for additional support—not to mention a creamy, hand-crafted vanilla flavor. (It's sugar-free, too!)*

Already Gave Birth? Consider Switching to a (Vegan) Postnatal Multivitamin

Once baby has arrived, nutrition needs look a little different—in fact, the postpartum period may require even more supplemental support than during pregnancy, especially for those who are breastfeeding. (Among the 29 essential micronutrients, lactation increases the demand for more than half of the micronutrients compared to pregnancy and other life stages.)*

That's why we recommend opting for a multivitamin that's suited specifically to this important time, like our Essential Postnatal—it was formulated with 15 nutrients to support those new demands. (And yes—it's vegan-friendly, too.) Bottom line? Women should consider switching to a postnatal multivitamin as soon as they give birth, and continue taking one for six months postpartum (or longer, if they’re continuing to breastfeed).