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Maryland Babies
weezie825
member
Prescription Prenatals
weezie825
member
During my pregnany I was on prescription prenatals. My co-pay was $50 per month. Yes it was high, but I just put enough in my flexible spending account to cover the co-pay and ended up not having to pay anything out of pocket.
Well Dh and I have started talking about having number two. Since I was anemic last time from very early on OB wants me to start taking prenatals for 3 months before we officially start trying to concive. So, look in our manual health benefits manual for next year. Apparently our health plan is going to a four tiered system for prescriptions and the prescription prenatals will now be in the fourth tier. They will cost $100 per month! 
Don't get me wrong I am VERY grateful for our insurance. The ONLY think I had to day of DD's entire NICU bill was our $500 hospital inpatient co-pay. (It's $100 a day, but capped at $500 per admission.)
I know that they want to encourage people to use the over the counter versions, but if my doctor thinks I can avoid a repeat premature birth by using these prescription prenatals, then that is what I am going to use. I wonder if I can get some type of special approval for them, since it is obviously in my insurance company;s best interest for me to go to term next time around.
I guess I just have sticker shock. The price doubled from one plan year to the next. I need to recalculate how much to put in my flexible spending account!
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Re: Prescription Prenatals
Yes, definitely check the website for the brand. I did and I got a coupon that could be used multiple times and saved me $40 or so dollars. Also be sure to ask for lots of samples. I have gotten about 2 weeks worth at every doctor's appointment!
Good luck with #2!
DUDE....that is a lot. What is in these things that makes them so good? FTR my doctor told me there was no difference between rx and otc prenatals.
and I am confused...what in the prenatals would prevent a preterm birth?
I know people think I am nuts, but prescription prenatals are no better than regular, I have had many OBs, GYN and midwives tell me that.
I talk all my vitamins seperate this pregnancy because most prescription and OTC prenatals don't have enough of very important vitamins and minerals, like calcium, Vit D (which helps with preterm labor, pre-e and GD and should be like at least 2000-6000 iu a day and prenatals only have 400 iu) magnesium (also helps with pre-e and preterm labor since they give magnesium to stop pre-term labor, most pregnant women are deficient)
All and all I pay $20 for everything separate. I am almost 40 and had no health issues with this baby, in fact, I have gained less weight, and had less swelling, and lower blood pressure then when I took the prescription brand prenatals when I was 4 years younger.
FWIW, I was anemic last pregnancy, even on prenatals, this pregnancy I was while taking OTC prenatals in the beginning, but then switched to a natural food based iron and stopped my prenatals and wow, my iron levels went very high. High enough my midwife asked what I was taking so she could recommend it to others.
I've been told my many (drs) that over the counter are the exact same, some people's insurances just have no fee so it's "cheaper" (free) to get prenatals via a script vs paying over the counter.
Maybe it's me, but I surely don't think a prenatal is going to keep someone from not going into pre-term labor. I had my baby early but I chalk it up to my body was ready. I know there was nothing I could have done differently because I think our bodies are designed to know when the right time is. I was also anemic (as i am all the time).
Actually high levels of vit D and magnesium does help, but the amount in a prenatal is not enough to do anything.
https://www.naturalnews.com/028118_vitamin_D_premature_birth.html
We are talking like 4000 iu, and prenatals have only 400.
My ins. co. had a co-pay of $80 for one month of the Rx vitamins my dr prescribed. It was for Prenate Plus, I think. The pharmaceutical company gave me the first three months free (to get me "hooked" I guess) but then I refused to buy them once I found out they were $80/month. I ended up getting OTC vites at Walmart that were the same, except the DHA was in a separate pill. Both bottles came together for $15. The ingredients were almost identical.
My dr. ended up prescribing a generic prenatal that cost me $10 for a three-month supply. (I took the OTC ones in between since I was out of vitamins at the time of my $80 sticker shock.) I would ask for a generic Rx or switch to OTC. FWIW I was anemic throughout both pregnancies, no matter what vitamin I took.
If you find the prenatal vitamins don't contain enough of a certain supplement, you can always take another supplement. During pregnancy and while BFing I take the prenatal, an extra calcium supplement, and iron. Be sure to take your iron separately from calcium, as your body cannot absorb both properly at once. GL with TTC!!
I actually had a lot of problems during my 1st pregnancy. Apparently I had really low iron before getting pregnant because when they checked my iron at 6 weeks it was extremely low. Then I had 2 major bleeds and landed on bed rest for a while. After a few weeks of prenatals AND an iron supplement things got better. Then my water broke for some unknown reason at 33 weeks.
Basically my body didn't really handle being pregnant very well the first time around... Unfortunately there isn't much I can do to change that except to try and be as healthy as possible before getting pregnant, hence the starting prenatals now to get my vitamin stores up. At least that might avoid the pregnancy anemia.
I know that you are right and that there isn't all that much difference between the OTC vitamins and the Rx ones... So I guess maybe I am grasping at straws and hoping that this time around that bad stuff won't happen again.
My OB (The Women's Group in Columbia) recommended VitaMed prenatals, and they don't even require a prescription. She said that they're just as good as the prescription kind (but much better than the stuff at Target), and you can order them online at www.vitaMedMD.com. They're a very natural vitamin with vegetarian DHA. They're $20 a month.