Pre-natal vitamins

Prenatal vitamins are safe. The prenatal vitamin is a multivitamin preparation that is formulated for the needs of pregnancy. The key vitamin is folate (a deficiency in folate causes birth defects) and there is a key mineral, calcium (to support bone development). If you are prone to forming calcium-based kidney stones, then any excess source of calcium in the diet could increase your risk of having a stone. But the amount of calcium in the vitamins is small (300mg) in comparison with Calcium therapy (500-1000mg daily). As long as you do not become dehydrated, the risk of getting a kidney stone from prenatal vitamins is pretty small. Your risk of kidney stones goes up if you become dehydrated, even if you do not have any excess calcium in your diet. So drink plenty of water when you are out hiking in the summer heat! The other vitamins and mineral in the preparation are not going to hurt you. Here is the list of components in a typical prenatal vitamin preparation: * 4,000 - 5,000 IU (international units) of vitamin A * 800 - 1,000 mcg (1 mg) of folic acid * 400 IU of vitamin D * 200 to 300 mg of calcium * 70 mg of vitamin C * 1.5 mg of thiamine * 1.6 mg of riboflavin * 2.6 mg of pyridoxine * 17 mg of niacinamide * 2.2 mcg of vitamin B-12 * 10 mg of vitamin E * 15 mg of zinc * 30 mg of iron

Prenatal vitamins are safe for the general public.  The only thing you need to be aware of is that many prenatals have a higher level of iron than other daily multivitamins.