Planning a pregnancy? Be sure you start the prenatal before trying to conceive.

Taking a prenatal multivitamin during pregnancy may reduce the risk of losing the baby by 55%, compared to not taking a multivitamin, says a new study. 

When a woman is on the prenatal before she conceives, that is every single day of the pregnancy, the risk reduction climbs to 79%.

This is just too important a benefit to ignore. It is simple and very inexpensive to take a high quality multi-vitamin or prenatal multi-vitamin. Women of childbearing age who would welcome a pregnancy would be well advised to select a multi that provides not just the typical nutrients including folic acid, but that includes the omega-3 DHA as well. Here are two of my favorites.

One more thing the study found, limit coffee. The risk of miscarriage increases when a woman drinks more than two cups of coffee per day.

Source: Fertility and Sterility
Published online ahead of print, doi: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2016.03.009
“Lifestyle and pregnancy loss in a contemporary cohort of women recruited before conception: The LIFE Study”
Authors: G.M. Buck Louis, et al.