A Pediatric Dietitian’s Take on Prenatal Gummies
A Pediatric Dietitian’s Take on Prenatal Gummies
As a pediatric dietitian, most of my work happens after a baby arrives. I help families with their kiddo’s picky eating, feeding struggles, growth concerns, gut health, etc. But one of the most common questions I naturally get from parents is future-facing: what prenatal can I take for my second or third baby?
Ultimately, nutrition doesn’t start at the first bite of baby food - it starts months before conception. This is why picking a nutritious and bioavailable prenatal is so important. When it comes to picking a prenatal that does it all, it can feel like finding a needle in a haystack.
The simple act of googling prenatals can be met with an overwhelming amount of information to sift through that tends to leave you with more questions; is a gummy as effective as a capsule? Why does this one have omegas, but this one doesn’t? When should I start taking one?
So let’s talk about it - because picking a prenatal shouldn’t feel like a research project (especially if you already have littles running around).
The goal isn’t to find the fanciest one on the market, the goal is to find one that provides meaningful nutrients that you can commit to taking each day. It is recommended women begin taking a prenatal at least 3 months prior to conception to not only optimize hormone production for healthy fertility, but also for foundational nutrient repletion.
Before most women know they are pregnant, their baby is already utilizing the mother’s nutrient stores for brain development in just the first few weeks of pregnancy. As a pediatric dietitian, I will always aim to help my clients to obtain their key nutrients from their diet first and foremost. However, getting everything we need from just food alone isn’t always realistic and in the case of growing a baby, you want that extra assurance that you are going into pregnancy with full nutrition stores.
As a pediatric dietitian, ingredients matter to me. A LOT. It’s important to me that the prenatal I recommend to my clients can support them at every stage of pregnancy, is well researched, and effective. Needed has always been a go to for me personally as its founders are both moms and nutritionists. They’ve spent the last four years creating a practitioner-grade prenatal: a radically better Prenatal Multi Gummy, that offers 8x more nutrition than the leading prenatal gummy². They go above and beyond to ensure every nutrient is chosen for bioavailability and gummy compatibility, with no unnecessary fillers or artificial sweeteners. Not only is the formula third-party tested for purity and potency - it is also thoughtfully crafted with nutrients like Vitamin B6, Magnesium, and Choline to help navigate first trimester nausea, mood, and brain health*
I love Needed for my clients because it takes the extra step in making sure every nutrient is as effective as can be. For example, most leading brands of prenatals contain folic acid, but the Needed Prenatal Multi Gummy contains methylfolate. Why? Because it's the bioavailable form of folate our bodies can more readily absorb. Traditionally, gummies could only hold so much nutrition versus a capsule. However, Needed didn't only push the boundaries of what’s possible in a gummy, they created a gummy that outperforms prenatals across the board. Needed’s Prenatal Multi Gummy offers 4x more nutrition than leading prenatals¹, including Ritual.
In just 3 gummies a day, you receive 17 vitamins and minerals that can support you through fertility, pregnancy, and postpartum. Needed goes the extra step to ensure safety and purity through its 2000+ quality checks per batch from raw materials to the finished product. It comes in two delicious flavors, Strawberry-Banana and Orange-Passionfruit-Pineapple, to help make taking them each day that much more enjoyable. And seriously… they’re really good.
Not only do ingredients matter, but the research behind the product matters. Needed contains clinically-studied amounts of key nutrients for pregnancy including folate, B12, and vitamin D.
When it comes to omega-3 and iron, Needed left these nutrients out intentionally. Iron is best dosed to your individual need, based on labs, and omega-3’s require a higher effective dosage than what can fit in a prenatal multi gummy or capsule. This is where Needed does the extra research on each nutrient to ensure you get the best value per nutrient. You can check out the rest of their supplement line to find both nutrients sold separately at optimal dosing for you and your baby.
At the end of the day, choosing a prenatal shouldn’t be stressful! Find one that meets your nutritional needs and fits your lifestyle. For those women who may struggle with a capsule, Needed created their Prenatal Multi Gummy which doesn’t sacrifice nutrition for convenience. That is why it is one of my top recommendations for clients who want to feel confident on this special journey.
*This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
¹4x more nutrition refers to the average amount of vitamins and minerals provided per daily serving, measured relative to pregnancy Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs), compared to the average of the leading prenatal gummy and capsule brand and Needed’s Prenatal as of May 2026. Brand A: 8x, Brand B: 4x, Brand C: 4x, Brand D: 4x.
²Based on a comparison of each brand’s labeled daily serving amounts of vitamins and minerals relative to the pregnancy Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs), calculated as an average across those nutrients. As of May 2026.
This post is sponsored by Needed, a brand I genuinely recommend to my patients and use personally.
