hi guys!
would appreciate some advice on where to get pre-natal vitamins.
thanks a lot.
just landed,
gadev

Every pharmacy sells them or you can get them via your Dr if you have one already. The main brand here is Elevit.

Just to add to that - if you go through the doctor you get them on prescription (i.e. free!) during and after the pregnancy. Not sure about pre pregnancy but you could ask your doctor to be sure.

Otherwise they cost a bloomin' fortune.

Mine weren't "free". They were given to me by my doctor and I paid around 70 francs per box for Elivit.

You can get the brands Allsan and Elivit in most pharmacies.

Thanks for quick reply, Lou and Soundgrounder!

Not pregnant yet, still trying : )

Have fun

Thanks, MarieZug. Geez, 70 francs?! I'll check out Allsan and Elivit at the pharmacy this afternoon.

Good luck with the pregnancy, if you haven't given birth yet

Guess it depends on your health insurance. I was covered for Elevit and also Magnesium supplements throughout my pregnancy and I got the Elevit while I was bfeeding, also covered on the health insurance.

I took folic acid tablets available from Coop (very inexpensive) while I was trying to get pregnant.

The 70 franc Elevit (sp?) pack lasts for 3 months and costs about the same as mulivitimins. I continued to take them while breastfeeding too.

I had my mom ship over a mega bottle of Centrum Vitamins from Sam's Club. $20 and it lasted me a year (here it cost 50fr. for 100 tablets). Folic acid was the only tablet I took from the Dr and that was for 1st trimester only. Magnesium supplements I bought in Migros- cheaper than going through the dr.

Watch out for normal vitamin tablets, high doses of Vit A can be harmful for the unborn baby.

Do you refer to complementary or mandatory insurance?

Or you can order from one of the online pharmacies overseas and save yourself a fortune.

http://www.chemistdirect.co.uk/sanat...s_1_26519.html

i got a free sample + prescription from my doctor but when i saw it was chocolate flavored i decided to look for something a tad healthier and ordered from overseas.

Don't forget probably the most important of all supplements when you are pregnant and that is Iron.

Most doctors will monitor this over the course of the pregnancy and won't particularly like it if it drops much below 100.

Folic acid is recommended for getting pregnant as is sex but probably the best thing you can do is to get fit and to eat healthily

No, you really need 400 microgr of folic acid before! trying to get pregnant!
Cannot emphasize this enough, doctors agree you can't get this much (absorbed) from food no matter how healthy you eat, and if you delay this until you know you are pregnant, most of the critical back and spinal tissue has already been formed.

I did not realize this timing issue until I saw an echo of my 7 week old son, absolutely tiny, but the spinal cord was already developing. (I had taken the advice however to start taking them at least 3-4 months before trying and was extremely relieved that I had).

Official recommendation because of this that all women of childbearing age always take extra folate, because with unplanned pregnancies, you will be at much higher risk of spina bifida in the fetus, as you CANNOT catch up raising your blood folate status!

One note on iron, if you get constipation problems due to the iron in Elevit or other supplements, ask your doctor for Maltofer syrup, it is liquid and helps avoid this problem. (But then you need a suppl. without iron).

The problem with standard pre-natal vitamins like Elevit is that they already contain a medium dosage of iron.

As muze-7 posted, it is important to have high enough iron levels during pregnancy.

However, iron pills tend to have some disagreable side effects, particularly nausea... Added to morning sickness, it can atually aggravate it.

I personally do not tolerate iron supplements at all - the side effects make me so sick that I actually end up with a lower level of iron than before starting the pills. Since it is in no way uncommon, my OB advised me to take 'normal' vitamin supplements, which do not have such a high level of iron, and are thus better tolerated.

When I was pregnant (back in NY) my doctor was of the opinion that pre-natal vitamins weren't necessary and that a regular multi-vitamin would do.

... plus folate/folic acid!