Pregnancy supplementation. What's good? What's safe? What should you be taking? What am I taking? These are some of the biggest questions you have asked ever since I told you I was pregnant. And today I'm finally going to answer them. 

To answer all of your questions about pregnancy supplementation, I am going to share with you everything I have been taking throughout my pregnancy.

Important disclaimer off the bat: this is not medical advice. Every pregnant woman's needs are different, but this is what I have chosen as a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner to support my body during my pregnancy. 

And a general rule on my approach to supplementation: I believe in a food-first approach. 

I believe God gave us everything we need in nature to support our bodies. He had a genius design in how he created nutrients and minerals to operate inside our bodies and provide them appropriately in nature.

In an ideal world, we’d get every nutrient we need from food. 

And you cannot out-supplement a poor diet.

But with that said, it is nearly impossible in today's world, with the quality of our soil and the lifestyles that we lead, for us to get everything that we need from our diet. 

So for that reason, I know supplementation can be an amazing tool to bolster what hopefully already is a solid nutritional foundation.

When you are pregnant and growing every little cell of another human being, you want to have everything you need. So investing in quality supplements that you trust can be an amazing way to boost what you're already doing. 

With that out of the way, I'm going to share with you the 8 supplements I have been loving throughout my pregnancy.

Note: underneath each supplement, I share a link to the brand I trust as well as any discount codes I can offer to save you money!

1 | Collagen

Collagen is one of my ride-or-die supplements for everyday health and it is essential during pregnancy too! Why do I love it so much?  Because collagen provides the essential amino acids needed for building new tissue, for your health and your growing baby.

I teach the importance of supporting a healthy gut lining with collagen in the Gut Glow program. 

Well, guess what? Creating a human is no small feat and requires a lot of new tissue growth! Collagen provides the amino acids you need to support your gut health and nourish your baby's development.

I love that collagen allows you to sneak in protein anywhere! Its flavorless nature makes it simple to add to any hot beverage, your morning coffee, or even smoothies. This is especially helpful during pregnancy when nausea and food aversions can make other protein sources unappealing.

I specifically love the collagen from Perfect Supplements. I recommend this brand because it's grass-fed, hydrolyzed for easy absorption, and rigorously tested for purity, ensuring you're not ingesting any unwanted heavy metals. Choosing a high-quality collagen like this one is important – your body and baby will thank you!

I do 2 scoops in my coffee every morning. (Yes, I do still drink coffee while pregnant, but there are a few ways I make it more pregnancy-friendly. I shared those tips in this vlog!)

SHOP → from Perfect Supplements | Use code MOLLIE for 10% off and bundle any 3 or more Perfect-branded products for an extra 20% off!

2 | Magnesium

Magnesium is another one of my favorite supplements to support overall health. I was taking this long before I became pregnant, but it is something I have maintained through my pregnancy that I firmly believe has helped me feel amazing. 

Magnesium is crucial when life throws stress our way, like, you know, like growing a whole human! It is hard to get enough magnesium in our diet because our soil is depleted. This is why I recommend taking a magnesium supplement to almost everyone.

Magnesium supports stress regulation, nourishes your adrenals, and calms your nervous system, leading to better sleep.

My go-to is Magnesium Glycinate. Of all the forms of magnesium, this one is not necessarily the cheapest, but it is worth it. I avoid cheaper forms like what you may find in most box-store bedtime teas, as they are often less potent. 

Some forms of magnesium can have a “loosening” effect as well, I prefer glycinate for its gentle touch on the gut. Now that doesn't mean that other forms can't be helpful. Other sources of magnesium can be great if you're constipated in pregnancy.

I take my magnesium before bed, and have for years! But oral supplements are not the only option…

While oral intake is important, I highly recommend Magnesium Flake baths, especially when you're pregnant, tired, achy, or struggling with sleep. Seriously, nothing beats a warm magnesium soak! You can absorb a surprising amount through your skin.

I'm telling you, the nights that I don't take a warm magnesium bath before bed, I notice I don't sleep as well. And then the nights that I take the time to decompress with my warm magnesium soak, I sleep so much better. 

SHOP Magnesium Glycinate → NOW from Amazon or Pure Encapsulations in my Fullscript dispensary where you’ll get 15% off

SHOP Magnesium Bath Flakes → from Perfect Supplements | use code MOLLIE for 10% off! 

3 | Acerola Cherry

Acerola Cherry is another pre-pregnancy staple and current pregnancy must-have! This superfood packs a vitamin C punch – like, 100 times more than an orange! 

Vitamin C fuels progesterone production, crucial for my PCOS journey and ongoing pregnancy support.

While I also use progesterone supplements due to borderline low levels (unfortunately something you deal with thyroid and PCOS issues), supporting the body's natural production remains key.

I get my Acerola Cherry from Perfect Supplements. You can get the capsule version, but I like to use just the powder form.

I do a scoop every morning in my Pregnancy Morning Elixir to support progesterone production to make sure that the uterine lining is strong and baby has everything it needs! 

SHOP → from Perfect Supplements | Use code MOLLIE for 10% off and bundle any 3 or more Perfect-branded products for an extra 20% off!

4 | Myo-inositol

This next one might surprise you (or maybe not!) – Myo-inositol. I haven't mentioned it before, but I've been using it for a while.

It is also known as B8 (though it's not technically a vitamin) and it helps cells become more insulin-sensitive, impacting blood sugar regulation.

Research shows its benefits for women with insulin issues and PCOS, improving fertility, and ovulation, and supporting healthy pregnancies. I started taking it pre-conception and have continued throughout my pregnancy.

Data suggests a 40:1 ratio of Myo-inositol to D-chiro-inositol is key (see this article from Dr. Jolene Brighten).

I trust Biotics Research's Balanced B8. I track my blood sugar and believe it aids regulation, crucial in pregnancy to avoid gestational diabetes.

SHOP → Balanced B8 from Biotics Research in my Fullscript dispensary where you can get 15% off

5 | Colostrum

 Colostrum is the first milk that comes in after you have your baby and it's super rich in nutrients. You have a very small volume of it, but it's like liquid gold! (Yes, it is indeed the milk that I will be producing here pretty soon.)

Now, you've probably heard of colostrum as it has been buzzing as a superfood lately, specifically bovine beef colostrum.

I'm always looking for a food-first approach to any vitamin, mineral, or nutrient. Colostrum is an extra boost of high-quality, natural nutrients, minus the synthetics. 

I love EQUIP's Core Colostrum. It’s grass-fed, bovine, third-party tested – the real deal. They offer flavored versions, but I use the unflavored one. I love that there is no stevia, monk fruit, or anything messing with its natural taste. Bonus: it's low-temperature processed to preserve those precious nutrients!

Every morning, I mix it into my Pregnancy Morning Elixir – an easy way to get all the good stuff in one go. 

SHOP → Core Colostrum from Equip | Use code MOLLIE for 15% off your first order!

6 | Probiotics

No surprise, gut health is crucial for various reasons (check out my Gut Health Masterclass for a deep dive!). But during pregnancy, we pass this vital microbiome to our babies, setting them up for life.

While some microbiome aspects are fixed from birth, you can still make positive changes. Your microbiome is so important when you're pregnant. Supporting your gut health before you get pregnant if you can but Continuing to nurture that healthy microbiome while you're pregnant with a quality probiotic that you trust is super vital.

Initially, I continued my usual BIOHM Super Reds/Greens morning gut shot (more details on that in this post). It's a long-time love!

Now, nearing the end and preparing for labor, I switched to Fem Dophilus specifically for vaginal microbiome support. I am praying for a smooth natural delivery, and this probiotic blend is specifically formulated to populate the birth canal with all the important support to pass onto baby. 

SHOP Probiotic Super Reds and Greens → from BIOHM | use code MOLLIE for 20% off!
SHOP Femdophilus → from Jarrow in my Fullscript dispensary where you can get 15% off

7 | Digestive Enzymes + HCl

If you're a part of my Gut Glow program, you know I love this product. 

Let's be real. Pregnancy can mess up your gut. We all know it for so many reasons. Both the mechanical changes of baby smushing your stomach up into your ribs and all your intestines are being pushed and moved. Hormonally, things are shifting and changing how your body is processing your food. And especially in that first trimester, you're probably eating differently than you normally would.

That's why I love Smidge's HCl + Enzymes formula. It's got well-rounded support, giving your body the necessary enzymes to break down food efficiently. 

Common misconception alert! Many people think acid reflux occurs because of too much acid, but often it's the opposite, a deficiency of stomach acid, causing the issue. This low dose of HCl and pepsin has kept my digestion feeling great – no pregnancy acid reflux for me! 

SHOP → from Perfect Supplements | Use code MOLLIE for 10% off!

8 | Prenatal

And saving the most controversial for last: a prenatal. 

Now this is a tricky topic, so I'm going to share with you the research I did and where I landed. 

The medical community shouts, “Take prenatals!” but most prenatals are…well, subpar. 90% of prenatal vitamins on the market are packed with synthetic forms of nutrients that our bodies struggle to absorb. 

On the other end of the spectrum, there’s often the holistic community that says “Ditch prenatals, get everything from food!” 

And while yes, it is ideal to get all your nutrients from food, individual needs vary and many times diet alone will leave you lacking in some nutrients critical to baby’s development. 

Based on my lab results and nutrient analysis, I knew I wanted to make sure I was getting some additional support to cover all my bases.

I opted for Needed's Prenatal Multi Essentials. It's high quality and it’s formulated with a focus on the bioavailable version of the nutrients that are in it.

While we’re here, we need to talk about folate. Now, folate is one of the long-touted nutrients that we know is needed for a baby's brain and spinal cord development. It's super important that mama has enough folate to supply the baby with while growing, and we know about the deficiencies and the outcomes that happen in babies that don't have enough.

But the medical community's response to that was to create the synthetic version of folate, which is folic acid. And that's what is put in most prenatal vitamins. And it's not the same. 

Now, if you are like me, and you have the MTHFR genetic mutation that makes methylation hard, this is especially important that you have the right version of folate, ultimately to get that from what you take to what the baby needs and can use.

So I like Needed because they have the methylfolate version paired with glucosamine salt to make sure that my body can absorb it. 

And bonus, I've had no nausea issues whatsoever with this prenatal! 

It's three capsules a day. I take two in the morning and one at night. 

I feel like it's also worth pointing out beef liver – which is often talked about, especially in the pro-metabolic community, as a whole food alternative to prenatals.

I am a huge fan of beef liver. I specifically love this desiccated one from Perfect Supplements. And honestly, before I ever got pregnant, I thought that I would use it as my prenatal. But as I did more research and looked at my specific nutrient needs, I didn't feel confident that this alone would give me everything that I needed.

I am a huge fan of beef liver as a bioavailable version of a ton of important nutrients that are needed in pregnancy, but I do think that you need to do your due diligence to check your specific nutrient needs and make sure that that is supplying everything that you think it is.

(For many women, I think a blend of the two can work well!)

SHOP → from Needed | Use code MOLLIE for 20% off your first month of a subscription 

So there you have my 8 favorite pregnancy supplements! 

More Support for Your Pregnancy

Obviously, I love all of these supplements. I stand behind them and they have helped me thrive in my pregnancy. 

But please, do not feel like this means that all of these are necessary to have a healthy pregnancy.

Focusing on a healthy diet…

Eating real whole foods…

Getting enough sleep…

Moving your body…

Staying hydrated…

Working on having a healthy mindset…

Filling your heart and your soul with gratitude and joy…

^ These ^ are foundational.

And these 8 supplements are just the icing on the cake. 

For more support for your pregnancy, you can watch this vlog for real-life examples of what I eat while pregnant and a discussion on cravings and appetite changes. 
Or dive into my whole pregnancy playlist here.

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