If you have any medical questions or concerns, please talk to your healthcare provider. The articles on Health Guide are underpinned by peer-reviewed research and information drawn from medical societies and governmental agencies. However, they are not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Show
You may have heard that taking prenatal vitamins can give you strong, shiny hair and nails even if you’re not pregnant. This is actually false—the “pregnancy glow” is most likely to hormonal changes, not prenatal vitamins. But while prenatals won’t help your hair and nails any more than a multivitamin will, there are other ways you can improve your hair and nail health. Fertility hormones shouldn’t be a mystery Get the info you need to start learning about your fertility Get testedWhat are prenatal vitamins?Prenatal vitamins, or prenatals, are multivitamins designed specifically for the nutritional needs of a pregnant or breastfeeding person. While regular multivitamins meet your day-to-day health needs, creating and feeding a baby demands a lot more from your body. Most of your nutrients should come from your food since many nutrients are better absorbed from whole foods rather than supplements—but the nutritional needs of pregnancy can’t always be met by your diet (Melse-Boonstra, 2020). Certain essential nutrients for pregnancy (like folic acid) are hard to get enough of through food alone but are critical to prevent birth defects (Merrell, 2022). That’s why prenatals are recommended to supplement—not replace—a healthy pregnancy diet. If you’re planning to become pregnant, it’s a good idea to take prenatal vitamins for a couple of months before trying to conceive; it can take some time for nutrients to build up in your blood to properly nourish and protect a growing fetus (Wilson, 2015). Will prenatal vitamins help my hair grow?There isn’t any evidence showing that prenatal vitamins improve hair or nail strength and quality. The pregnancy “glow,” lustrous hair, and strong nails pregnant women often have are more likely a result of hormone shifts in pregnancy (like increased estrogen) and not due to taking prenatal vitamins. So unless you have a severe pre-existing nutritional deficiency that can damage hair health (like a protein or iron deficiency), the nutrients that make prenatals special won’t make your hair or nails grow (Guo, 2017). You’re better off sticking with a daily multivitamin and trying other tools for improving hair health. What is in prenatal vitamins?Prenatal vitamins contain many of the same ingredients as traditional multivitamins (like zinc, magnesium, vitamin B12, and vitamin C). The benefit of prenatal vitamins is that they have especially high levels of key nutrients that are important for a healthy pregnancy, including: Folic acidFolic acid deficiency increases the risk of having a child with neural tube defects (spinal cord problems like spina bifida), so folic acid (sometimes called folate) is an essential prenatal nutrient (Merrell, 2021). Fortunately, prenatal vitamins contain plenty of folic acid. It’s recommended that women take prenatal vitamins or folic acid supplements at least a month before getting pregnant and during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Since a baby’s spinal cord forms very early in pregnancy, it’s important that this nutrient is immediately available to the developing fetus (ACOG, 2022). Folic acid for pregnancy: why it matters and how much you needPregnancy Last updated: Nov 09, 2021 5 min read IronYour iron requirements skyrocket during pregnancy—the recommended iron intake goes from 18 mg per day to 27 mg per day (ACOG, 2022). This is because your blood volume increases during pregnancy. Having enough iron is essential to help you create that extra blood and reduce your risk of getting iron-deficiency anemia (Pascual, 2021). CalciumYou probably know that calcium supports healthy bones—but did you know that when you’re pregnant, your body will leach calcium out of your bones to build your baby’s bones if you don’t get enough of the mineral? (Hacker, 2012). Although it’s thought a mother’s bones recover their strength by one year postpartum, it’s widely recommended that women who are pregnant or lactating increase their calcium intake (Pascual, 2021). Can I take prenatal vitamins if I don’t want to get pregnant?Taking a prenatal vitamin if you’re not pregnant (and don’t want to get pregnant) won’t improve your health or the quality of your hair and nails any more than a regular multivitamin would. Plus, taking prenatals if you don’t want to get pregnant could be risky in the long term; consuming excess vitamins and minerals for a long period with no outlet for them (like growing a fetus) can theoretically cause health problems. Can men take prenatal vitamins?Fertility Last updated: Apr 20, 2022 5 min read Remember, prenatal vitamins contain extra amounts of things like iron and folate because they’re needed for pregnancy—not because your body can normally use those extra amounts. Taking in too much of these vitamins and minerals can result in things like:
When is it okay to take prenatal vitamins?Prenatal vitamins are safe when taken as directed. Typically, that means only taking one serving of your prenatal supplement each day and checking the supplement container to see how many pills are in one daily serving. Prenatal vitamins are usually recommended if you’re:
Exercise, weight, and fertility: what’s the connection?Fertility Last updated: Jan 05, 2022 5 min read If you don’t want to get pregnant and are correctly using highly effective birth control (e.g., you have an IUD or take your birth control pill every day at the same time), you probably don’t need to take prenatals. However, if you aren’t reliably using birth control (maybe you miss your pills sometimes or are late getting your birth control shot), it may be a good idea to take prenatal vitamins (Wilson, 2015). Tips to improve hair and nails while you’re not pregnantStill looking for a way to improve your nail health or get thicker hair, even if taking prenatal vitamins isn’t a good idea? Here are a few tips to try (Al Aboud, 2021):
Fertility tests for women: types, results, costFertility Last updated: Dec 20, 2021 6 min read Whether you’re concerned about your hair and nail health or are considering getting pregnant, talk to your healthcare provider before starting prenatal vitamins. Can you take prenatal vitamins without being pregnant for hair growth?You may be tempted to take prenatal vitamins because of unproven claims that they promote thicker hair and stronger nails. However, if you're not pregnant and not planning to become pregnant, high levels of certain nutrients over a long period of time may actually be more harmful than helpful.
What are the side effects of taking prenatal vitamins when not pregnant?Prenatal side effects when not pregnant. Vomiting.. Constipation.. Muscle pain.. Weight loss.. Changes in your period.. |