Customer Reviews

New Chapter Perfect Prenatal, 192 Count

5 star:		(153)
4 star:		(38)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

The only con that I THOUGHT I had about these pills is that you had to take them 3 times a day and sometimes I would forget. But I found out you can take 3 pills at the same time- only one time a day. (I spoke to New Chapter) And it's not difficult because they are so easy on the stomach.
Just thought everyone would like to know.

I feel so much better about this vitamin, that is is whole-food derived. Very gentle on the stomach.
A note to the reviewer about the calcium, I too wondered about the insufficient calcium in (all) prental vitamins. I even asked my ob why and he didn't know?? ... finally found out that calcium blocks iron absorbtion. So you need to take a calcium supplement at a different time than your prenatal.

I had been taking a prenatal vitamin prescribed by my doctor for two years, because I told her my husband and I were planning on having a family relatively soon. I never noticed a big energy difference, or really any difference at all in how I felt. I began to research switching prenatals once I found out I was pregnant, because I still felt undernourished even while eating healthy, taking vitamins, and exercising. After asking around I decided to buy these after hearing positive reviews from friends who had just had babies, and talking to my doctor.
Within three days to a week of taking them, I was shocked at how much of an energy increase I noticed, and how much my mood and overall well-being increased. It was almost like I was truly awake and alive for the first time in years. I was almost hyper at first, but it was a welcomed change to feeling sluggish and tired constantly. After a couple weeks I no longer felt hyper at all, just much healthier, happier, and more energetic.
After reading the reviews on here, I became slightly concerned about these vitamins not passing the dissolve test. I decided to do a little research. New Chapter explains why these do not pass the test, and why it does not take away from the nutritional value in our body.

Here is a response to someone else who asked the same question:

"Thank you for your inquiry and for your interest in New Chapter supplements. Probiotic Nutrients, including Perfect Prenatal, are not your standard vitamin and mineral isolates. They are whole food! Because each tablet contains 30% protein and because we do not add chemical excipients to aid in their breakdown (a requirement for organic certification), they generally take longer than USP nutrients to dissolve, however, they always disintegrate within an acceptable amount of time with respect to the USP standards.

When claims were made in 2005 that New Chapter's Perfect Prenatal failed dissolution testing by Consumer Labs, New Chapter's president, Tom Newmark, was invited to defend the perfect status of our prenatal vitamin in an interview with CNN. He explained that New Chapter subjects each and every batch of our Probiotic Nutrients to standard USP disintegration testing and has the passing test results available for consumers to see. (For a complete description of this testing method, please see the attached document.) The station later removed our name from their website after documentation proved the claims made were unjustified. Since then, other news stations and publications have picked up the original story, but have failed to report it in full.

Additionally, Perfect Prenatal has been accused of not disintegrating when placed in a glass of warm vinegar. This kind of test is inappropriate for testing what happens when you swallow a complex whole food product such as ours. Remember, the pH of the stomach is around 1, while that of vinegar is 3-4. Additionally, HCL isn't the only thing responsible for breaking down and liberating nutrients from their natural protein binding in food; proteolytic enzymes also play an essential role, not to mention the fact that contractions of stomach muscles churns it all together to make a food slurry called chyme.

The `vinegar test' is designed for the isolated nutrients bound together by chemical binders. So, while it may be fun to watch chemical forms of vitamins dissolve in a glass of vinegar, you would be waiting a very long time, perhaps even forever, for a carrot or a piece of spinach or blueberries to dissolve in this fashion.
As New Chapter's Quality Control Director, Brad Marr, explains, "The test method used by the TV station could very well hold the product together. Vinegar and water solution could result in a pH at or near the protein's iso-electric point, similar to the curdling of cheese. A better performance comparison to our products would have been a chunk of cheddar cheese, a piece of steak, or a type of food with a similar protein, fat and carbohydrate make-up."

In addition to this standard disintegration testing, New Chapter has worked with an independent laboratory to create a testing procedure that more closely replicates what happens in the stomach environment (proteolytic enzymes and pH 1 HCL solution). All samples tested by using this method confirm that Probiotic Nutrients disintegrate well within the typical human stomach/intestine digestion time. Furthermore, a longer disintegration time is a good thing, nutrients are best utilized within the body over longer periods of time, rather than in the short spikes that isolated nutrients provide, which flood the body with single nutrients and can result in biphasic activity (including possible side effects).

We hope this information has quelled any concern. As the only organic whole food prenatal in the world, we think you have chosen the best and safest prenatal that has ever been."

I read about these prenatals somewhere and after talking to a few people in our local health food store, I decided to try them. I was skeptical about the price at first but now I know they are worth every penny. I will always recommend these to anyone who is thinking about becoming or is pregnant. They did not make me sick, even on an empty stomach. They supply everything you and your baby need plus probiotic support. Probiotics are recommended with the hormone fluctuations of pregnancy which can cause yeast problems. These vitamins are excellent and if you do your research you will see these are worth the price. I really like the New Chapter company and their approach to "whole food" supplementation. Check out these prenatals and the company to see for yourself!

My wife told me to rate these 5 stars because they "help her go to the bathroom." I'm a guy so I really have nothing else to add. Here's a list of ingredients for those of you who are curious...

Three Tablets Contain % DV

Vitamin A.......................100 %
Vitamin C.......................100 %
Vitamin D3......................250 %
Vitamin E.......................100 %
Vitamin K.......................88 %
Vitamin K2......................12 %
Thiamin-Vitamin B1..............267 %
Riboflavin-Vitamin B2...........294 %
Niacin..........................100 %
Vitamin B6......................250 %
Folate..........................150 %
Vitamin B12.....................500 %
Biotin..........................100 %
Pantothenic Acid................100 %
Calcium.........................7.5 %
Iron............................100 %
Iodine..........................60 %
Magnesium.......................3 %
Zinc............................50 %
Selenium........................71 %
Copper..........................38 %
Manganese.......................100 %
Chromium........................83 %
Molybdenum......................27 %

Mixed Carotenoids...............N/A

Prenatal Herbal Blend...........N/A
(lots of organic fruits and vegetables)

Breast Support Blend............N/A
(some more organic vegetables)

New Chapter vitamins are by far the best vitamins I have found. I have taken the women's one daily for five years with excellent results. When I first became pregnant my doctor prescribed a prenatal, but I felt less energetic and notable stomach/digestion problems. Assuming it was part of the pregnancy I continued to take the prescription vitamins with increased discomfort. Then, I started taking New Chapter Perfect Prenatal vitamins at the end of my first trimester and immediately felt the difference. My energy, mood, and stomach problems improved in just a few days. I would strongly recommend these vitamins to anyone who is pregnant or nursing

I have been told by several girlfriends that have taken Pre-Natals that they work wonders for your hair, skin, nails, and energy level. I am not planning to get pregnant for a few years but decided to start taking some. I am a vegetarian so my research led me to these. They are already after 2 months making a remarkable difference in my nails and my hair is growing very fast! Being a Vegetarian has caused me to pay close attention to the level of energy i have and B vitamins are crucial: this vitamin has a perfect combination of the essentials that most of us are not getting in our regular diets. I love this brand since they are easy to swallow, don't leave any aftertaste or stomach upset even when taken on an empty stomach! I plan to use these as my daily multi from now on!

I am a 33 year old disabled woman. Normally I have no energy and I am sluggish in the morning, boy did that change when I started taking these Perfect Prenatal pills. I have tons of energy, my hair is growing and I'm not even pregnant. I bought these in the hope my hair would stop thinning and possibly grow thicker, and boy did it do the trick. I must have been missing some important vitamins in my body for it to make this big of a differance. The only down side is that these aren't cheap and you need to take 1 at each meal for a total of 3 a day. But that won't stop me from getting more of these little wonder pills.

I've been taking these for about 6 weeks now and they have not bothered my stomach at all. I also have noticed an increase in my energy level. Previously, I was taking Women's One-a-day for years but I always had to eat before I took it or I would throw up. I have a very sensitive stomach and after reading all of the reviews, it was a major reason that I chose these. I also chose them because they have one of the lowest contaminants of all the major prenatal vitamins (you can compare test results of all the major brands of prenatal and children's vitamins on the FDA's website under food safety[...]

As for the "three vitamins a day" that I noticed some reviewers complaining about, YOU CAN TAKE ALL THREE IN ONE SITTING! It's the same as taking one LARGE prenatal vitamin for the prenatals that are dosed at one pill a day! The pill size for these are smaller than my Women's One-a-day and smaller than most daily multi-vitamins.

You will need to take additional Calcium with this prenatal because there is less calcium in it so that your body will absorb the iron. So when you take your calcium supplement do not take it at the same time as the prenatal because the calcium blocks some of the iron absorption. I take my calcium in the morning because that is my highest calcium meal to begin with, then I take one prenatal at lunch, one at dinner and one at bed time... if I forget the ones earlier in the day, then I take all of them at bed time (again, no different than taking a single dose prenatal). I also take my fish oil at night. I've found that Nordic naturals have the highest DHA/EPA levels in them, they are expensive but I think it's worth it. I hope that this information helps! Good luck!

I started taking these vitamins about 1 year before I started trying to concieve. I used to take One-A-Day Womens but they made me sick to my stomach and I needed to change vitamins. I never had a problem with these upsetting my stomach, even when I had morning sickness and took them on an empty stomach. You never really know how well a vitamin works, you just buy them and hope they do the trick. Well after I got pregnant of course you have to do all the blood work to check your vitamin levels and make sure everything is ok, yada yada yada. Well, my blood work came back perfect, my iron levels were great even though I've had problems with anemia in the past and my vitamin D was even perfect which is really rare for my area (Greater Seattle area, we don't get any sun).