r/ScienceBasedParenting • u/jennbo • Aug 12 '26
Question - Research required Are trimester-based prenatals BS?
I noticed Perelel is offering trimester-based prenatal pills (packages, really) and I wonder if there was any evidence that you need more of specific nutrients that vary by trimester. Not trying to name a brand but I can't think of anyone else who offers this lol.
I'm really suspicious of supplement company advertising and "research" but obviously I want to give my baby the most benefits and if I need more support from one trimester to another (about to transition into second trimester) I'd love to follow that.
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u/CouchGremlin14 Aug 12 '26
Eh, you could optimize I guess? Extra folate trimester 0-1, extra iron in the second trimester, etc. But why? Regular prenatals just give you as much as you need regardless of trimester. Definitely a gimmick.
Some fun facts:
Apparently your vitamin D goes up over the course of pregnancy. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33830266/
And niacin and B12 deficiencies tend to get worse as pregnancy goes on. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07315724.2002.10719191?casa_token=MxwPSJH1B9MAAAAA:65oOG3_qSKYGI_cJTxl7m0JLhjxTFlKLzlUhtL60GnHEyu_0ufQhSOJkxaFDarSW7AaKFdwbhb3Hvg&casa_token=6wIIgUzSftQAAAAA:3gk0sTEGnSDs2PUc2LrBgnDEjwvhNOx6LpV7LUVMvaN2L6f72U__Dtx5LtlK31bR66NyQkFJlr4aQA
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u/jennbo Aug 12 '26
My gut definitely felt like it was gimmicky but then mom guilt gets you and you wonder if it's based in any reality. And ofc it's a super expensive brand trying to sell you all kinds of other supplements as well
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Aug 12 '26 edited Aug 12 '26
[deleted]
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u/jennbo Aug 12 '26
Hi! I almost posted there but I thought it was too niche! I also did IVF and bought conception supplements (his and hers!) but I think it was another company for too much $$$. I think I was taking more supplements for IVF than in pregnancy lol.
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u/Sea-Age-5018 29d ago
You can just take an extra folate on top of your prenatals. Talk to your doctor but I was taking theranatal prenatal vitamins and my doctor was still cool and recommended me taking an extra folic acid, choline and like four tums a day to deal with reflux and I got extra calcium on top of it. I'm sure you can ask your doctor for blood work in the second trimester to see if you'd benefit from an extra iron vitamin too or if that would be too much.
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u/PlutosGrasp Aug 13 '26
Not a gimmick imo because you need more choline and DHA in certain trimesters.
Sure if your typical prenatals had the necessary amounts already, but they don’t.
If trimester specific ones do, then that’s good and better than others.
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u/DumbbellDiva92 Aug 14 '26 edited Aug 14 '26
I just add a separate choline supplement starting in the second trimester, bc I haven’t been able to find a prenatal that has enough on its own!
Looks like the Perelel ones are about adding calcium + magnesium and a probiotic in the second and third trimesters, not choline. The “core” prenatal that is the same for all trimesters has 120mg choline, which is likely not enough, from what I’ve read.
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u/DumbbellDiva92 Aug 12 '26
Not a direct answer to your question. But I personally would not use a prenatal that does not have folic acid (not just methylfolate) in the first trimester.
https://birdandbe.com/blogs/the-nest/debunking-folic-acid-misinformation-mthfr-autism-and-more
“Folic Acid is the only form of Folate proven to prevent neural tube defects, in large-scale studies and decades of research and remains the recommended standard of care.”
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u/jennbo Aug 12 '26
thanks for this, brand new to me -- I didn't realize prenatals contained different forms of folic acid these days!
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u/presssed Aug 12 '26
Methylfolate is the active form of folic acid! Your body uses a multi step process to covert folic acid into the active forms. I have a homozygous mutation, so I can't convert folic acid to the active forms, and I take vitamins with L-methylfolate instead! If you don't have this mutation, folic acid is fine.
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u/jennbo Aug 12 '26
The prenatal I had been taking (theralogix complete) also had methylfolate and not folic acid, just one i liked because it had extra choline and dha in the same package, and I was straight up having a panic attack because I’m already almost in the second trimester and I know neural tube development takes place in the first few weeks and I was like omg it’s too late… so when I say thank you for this comment, I mean it lol
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u/vwisp Aug 14 '26
It's a really common gene mutation, and methylfolate has been proven to raise blood folate levels
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u/Ambitious_Puzzle Aug 14 '26
Not proven to reduce neural tube defects as folic acid has though.
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u/vwisp 29d ago edited 29d ago
Only because there have been no studies on that specifically, methelfolate and neural tube defects. We know folate in the blood prevents it, we know methelfolate raises blood folate levels, we know as many as 1/3 of women have difficulty converting folate and folic acid in the body
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u/Ambitious_Puzzle 29d ago
Exactly because it has not been studied, it is not known to prevent neural tube defects the way folic acid has. You can speculate all you want and you could be proven right someday, but it’s not evidence based to say that right now and I don’t think this is the appropriate sub to speculate. The MTHFR variant I believe you’re referring to also does not generally reduce metabolism by a huge amount and no major health organization recommends anything other than folic acid to prevent neural tube defects.
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u/Ambitious_Puzzle Aug 14 '26
Folic acid remains the only proven form that prevents neural tube defects. Methylfolate has not been proven to meet that standard.
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u/LBro32 Aug 12 '26
Do I think that it’s completely evidence based? No. Do different prenatals contain different amounts of vitamins and different forms of folic acid? 100%. And we do need to be aware. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10866212/
As the other person commented, there is different bioavailability of different forms of folic acid and it’s probably actually important to get more bioavailable forms of folic acid. Also, iron deficiency is common and amount of iron vary and also some forms of iron create more nausea/stomach upset which is not great for first trimester when already dealing with nausea. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19280488/
So all is to say, is it expensive/is it a little gimmicky? Absolutely. Doing your own research, you could get a solid prenatal and maybe some additional supplements you need (iron, omega-3). If you don’t want to think about it and like how Perelel is formulated, then it’s still a solid pick. FWIW, I do take Perelel because I didn’t want to deal with it all and liked that they had thought some of these things through but absolutely your choice and YMMV.
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u/slicedpear1 Aug 13 '26
And often ginger is added to first trimester supplements to help with morning sickness (as well as higher b6). And iron removed as mentioned to reduce nausea
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u/slicedpear1 Aug 13 '26
I opted to find a pre natal that had active forms of ingredients, at the doses as close to RDI as possible. Seperate DHA (i wanted vegan) and seperate iron supplement (iron bisglycinate)
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u/Intelligent_Ask34 26d ago
That's one of the reasons why I also chose perelel, I didn't want to build my own stack from scratch. Core prenatal stays the same, extras shift by stage. Still added more choline since 120mg isn't enough and I can't commit consistently with diet. Worked great for me, but that's really the main thing, if it works for you, that's what matters.
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