When Jeanette Norman was diagnosed with gestational diabetes, her doctor prescribed prenatal vitamins. "Since you have to be very careful what you eat while you have GD, I think that's why they were prescribed to me," says the mom from Cincinnati, Ohio.

Because many pregnant women aren't able to eat properly (it's hard to eat a balanced diet when everything makes your stomach churn), prenatal vitamin and mineral supplements ensure pregnant women are getting nutrients they need.

"The Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academy of Sciences has set guidelines for adequacy of nutrient content for the well-being of the mother and fetus," says Margaret Plumbo, an instructor at the University of Minnesota's Nurse-Midwifery and Women's Health Program. "Prenatal vitamins meet basic levels of vitamin and mineral content."

What makes prenatal vitamins different from other types of vitamin and mineral supplements is what is and is not present, says Ashley Koff, registered dietician and owner of the healthXchange from Santa Monica, Calif. For example, folic acid is twice the dose of most regular multivitamins, while there are no herbs and little to no vitamin A in prenatal vitamins. Because of the differences in the needs of a pregnant woman and a non-pregnant woman, Koff recommends that regular multivitamins not be used as a replacement for prenatal vitamins.

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