When you find out you’ve got a bun in the oven, a lot of things swirl through your mind. Of course, your health when pregnant is one of your biggest concerns, because a healthy mommy means a healthy baby.
One of the ways women stay healthy while they’re chilling out and creating a human being is to find the best over-the-counter prenatal vitamins with DHA that they can.
Simple, right?
Well, not to burst your glowing pregnancy-related bubble here, but have you seen the vitamin aisle lately? Pregnancy vitamins are big business, and because of that, your choices can be a bit overwhelming.
While you might be all over this pregnancy thing like white on rice on a paper plate in a snowstorm, you need to know what your options are.
So, put your feet up (seriously, those ankles don’t need to turn into cankles) and let us do the work for you!
Below is a list of the top prenatal vitamins with DHA you can find on the market today.
Why are prenatal vitamins important?
You may be wondering at this point what the big deal is about pregnancy vitamins. If you’re eating a balanced diet, then you’re covering all your bases, right? Well, not necessarily.
It can be quite difficult to get all the right nutrients both you and your little sea monkey need over the next 40 weeks. Even if you eat a varied and healthy diet, it can still be a challenge.
Many women need the extra nutritious boost provided by prenatal vitamins, especially if:
- You’re a vegan or vegetarian
- You have a food intolerance
- You have a chronic disease
- You’ve had gastric bypass surgery
- You’re having more than one baby (whoa Mama!)
- You have a blood disorder
The nutrients found in prenatal vitamins help you to avoid a host of problems, too, such as:
- Birth defects in your baby such as cleft palate and cleft lip
- Developing low iron
- Developing pregnancy-related high blood pressure
Now, don’t go and freak out with all these hormones coursing through your system and worry about all the things that can go wrong.
All you need to do is focus on what you can do to support a healthy pregnancy for yourself and your baby (or babies).
What is DHA and what does it do?
DHA is short for docosahexaenoic acid. It’s a fancy name for an omega-3 fatty acid that is normally found in fatty fish such as salmon, tuna, and sardines.
For you right now in this moment, DHA is necessary for the healthy development of your baby’s central nervous system – her brain, spinal cord, and even her eyes. That’s pretty dang important!
The problem is that it’s difficult for pregnant women to eat enough foods that contain DHA because you can’t eat certain types of fish when pregnant, or you can only eat a little of them.
That’s because the fish that are high in DHA also happen to be high in mercury, and you must watch your exposure to mercury when pregnant or it could have a detrimental impact on the development of your baby.
That’s why you need the best over-the-counter prenatal vitamins with DHA, so you and your baby can get what you need to stay healthy, but without all that other gross stuff.
What should you look for in a prenatal vitamin?
There are a few rules of thumb you should follow in order to help you choose the right vitamin. So don’t feel overwhelmed! Simply make sure the vitamin contains:
- Folic acid (600 milligrams)
- Calcium (150 milligrams)
- Iron (27 milligrams)
- Iodine (150 milligrams)
- Vitamin B6 (1.9 milligrams)
- DHA
- Vitamin A (no more than 10,000 IU per day)
- Vitamin D (600 IU)
- Zinc (11 milligrams)
- Copper (0.9 milligrams)
- Vitamin C (85 milligrams)
- Vitamin E (12 milligrams)
- Thiamin (1.2 milligrams)
- Riboflavin (1.2 milligrams)
- Niacin (14 milligrams)
- Vitamin B12 (2.2 milligrams)
Another thing you need to look for is an independent seal of approval. Prenatal vitamins are rigorously evaluated by these organizations for quality"
- NSF International
- United States Pharmacopeia (USP)
- Consumer Lab
The approval of these organizations is voluntary and not a required step for vitamin manufacturers, so this seal is something you might want to use to help give you peace of mind when choosing which vitamin is right for you.
Before we reveal our favorites, check out the table below for an overview.
Quick comparison: Best over-the-counter prenatal vitamins with DHA
Prenatal Vitamins | Qualities we love | Rating | Buy it now |
|---|---|---|---|
Vitafusion Prenatal 
| - Contain 50 mg of Omega-3 DHA - Gluten-free | ||
One A Day Women's 
| - Soft gels, so easy to swallow - Good value for money | ||
SmartyPants 
| - Non-GMO, no gluten, allergens, | ||
Nature Made 
| - No yeast, starch or gluten | ||
Zahler Premium Prenatal 
| - Made in the USA from |
For the full scoop on the best vitamins with DHA, check out our list below.
Vitafusion Prenatal Gummy Vitamins
The Germans have created a lot of wonderful things: beer, sports cars, and gummy bears. The first two are decidedly out for you with that precious cargo you’re carrying, but gummy bears are definitely still on the menu.
You can cover a couple of your bases with these gummy vitamins because they’re not some ginormous horse pill that makes you want to gag – they’re delicious and (literally) nutritious. These yummy gummies, which contain 50 mg of DHA per serving, make it OK for you to look forward to taking your daily vitamin.
Pros
- Taste great
- Gentle on your stomach
- Contain natural flavors and colors
- Have DHA
- Easy to swallow
- Gluten and peanut free
- Use sustainably sourced fish oil
Cons
- Slightly fishy taste
- Not in high in DHA
- Don’t have iron
Why do these vitamins stand out from the others?
These vitamins stand are gentle on your stomach and make your daily multivitamin something to look forward to. So, they’re a good choice if you’re pregnant or trying to become pregnant but you don’t want to take a pill.
One A Day Women’s Prenatal One Pill
One A Day is a brand you’ve no doubt heard of before – you may have taken one of their other vitamins in the past since they’ve got a vitamin for every occasion it seems!
They’re made by Bayer, so that’s a company you know and have probably come to trust through their other products.
These are not a gummy but a soft gel, which some people may prefer. This is a complete prenatal vitamin too, so it has everything you need all in one place.
Pros
- Soft gels
- Complete multivitamin
- Contain DHA
Cons
- Can’t be cut in half
- Fishy taste
- Smell fishy
- Must be taken with food
Why do these vitamins stand out from the others?
These vitamins are by a brand you can trust and are high quality and affordable. What's not to like?
Smarty Pants Prenatal Vitamins
These gummy vitamins are one of the best on the market! They taste great and have all the nutrients you need for you and your developing baby.
These aren’t your run-of-the-mill gummy vitamins; they have high-quality forms of B vitamins and folate in them, two very important ingredients to your health as well as your baby’s.
Not all prenatal vitamins are created equal, but you have to know what to look for in order to ensure you’re getting what’s best.
This option gives you a tasty alternative to the giant pills that can be tough to take at any point in your pregnancy, much less when you’re feeling queasy or have a full-size baby simultaneously pushing on your bladder and your stomach.
Furthermore, these vitamins contain no artificial colors, preservatives, or flavors, so you know you’re getting the highest quality, non-GMO gummy vitamin out there.
You may like them so much you keep taking them even after you give birth!
Pros
- A yummy gummy
- Premium ingredients
- 15 essential nutrients
- No fishy taste
- Responsibly sourced ingredients
Cons
- Do not contain iron
- Serving size of six
- Sugary tasting
Our favorite feature
You know that you need folate and DHA in order for your baby to develop as nature intended, but the kind of folate you’re getting in these gummies truly makes them one of a kind.
These gummy vitamins provide you with a form of folate that is natural, not man-made, so your body can break it down easier and use it to help your baby grow. Plus, the Vitamin D and Vitamin K work together to help you actually absorb calcium better, supporting a healthy skeletal system and bone health for both you and your baby!
Nature Made PrenatalMulti
This is a brand seen about everywhere, so chances are you’re familiar with it.
This is another liquid soft gel. These provide most of the nutrients you need to help support a healthy pregnancy, and they contain enough DHA in each serving, so you need just one per day.
What's more, they’re affordable – which every frugal parent loves. Because one thing you can’t forget is that kids – they’re expensive. And that expense seems to start even before they get here! Every penny counts!
Pros
- One dose a day
- Gluten free
- Preservative free
- Free from artificial colors
- Have DHA and folic acid
- Small
- Easy to swallow
Cons
- Oily on the outside
- Color on pill can bleed
Why do these vitamins stand out from the others?
These are an affordable and easy-to-swallow option for you, and they have USP verification. That gives moms-to-be great peace of mind.
Zahler Premium Prenatal Multivitamin Supplement
Remember those independent seals of approval we talked about? Well, this vitamin is made in a facility certified by the NSF, so you know they’re going above and beyond production standards when manufacturing this vitamin for you and your baby. Plus, it’s made in the USA – who doesn’t want to support American made products for your American made product?
These are complete multivitamins that contain 25 vitamins and nutrients and 300 mg of DHA, helping in the development of your baby's mental health, immune system, bone function, and vision.
Pros
- Contain DHA
- Easy to swallow
- High quality
- Gentle on the stomach
- Gluten free
Cons
- Expensive
- Contain gelatin
- Not organic
Why do these vitamins stand out from the others?
These are an incredibly high-quality vitamin that will provide you and your baby with everything you need in order to support a healthy pregnancy. They’re gentle on your stomach and aren’t large or hard to swallow. Well, they might be hard to swallow when you look at the price tag, but you certainly get your money’s worth!
You need vitamins when you’re pregnant, there’s no way around it. They’re healthy for you and they help that bun in your oven to cook up just right.
But that doesn’t make the choice as to which vitamin is right for you any easier, and when you’re so forgetful you put the milk in the cupboard and you can barely fit into your pants with each passing week, there’s a lot on your mind.
With such a wide variety of prenatal vitamins out there, we hope this has helped you in your pursuit of the best over-the-counter prenatal vitamins with DHA available today.
So, go belly first into the world of vitamins now that you have a little more knowledge under your ever-expanding belt!
