As integrative health providers, we see a consistent pattern during any part of the perinatal period: women doing many of “the right things” and still feeling depleted. Prioritizing nourishment, rest, and movement, and they’re taking a prenatal vitamin, yet they’re still struggling with low energy, brain fog, hair thinning, mood changes, and low stress resilience.
We don’t view these symptoms as inevitable parts of pregnancy or postpartum. They’re signs of nutrient depletion during one of the most nutritionally demanding seasons of life.
The Reality of Nutrient Depletion in Moms
Pregnancy, postpartum, and breastfeeding significantly increase the body’s need for nutrients. Yet current data suggests that up to 95% of women experience nutritional depletion, even when taking a prenatal supplement.
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data shows that women (including supplement users) are commonly low in critical nutrients such as vitamin D, choline, calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, and vitamins A, B6, K and E.
These nutrients are foundational & necessary! They support hormone production, energy, nervous system function, healthy blood pressure, and baby’s brain and cognitive development. When intake doesn’t meet demand, the body compensates, often by pulling from its own reserves.
Prenatal supplements are intended to fill dietary gaps. The problem is that many don’t actually meet the demands of the maternal body. This is where we see the biggest disconnect between intention and outcome.
Most prenatal vitamins are formulated based on Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs). These values are designed to prevent overt deficiency in the general population, not to replenish depleted nutrient stores or support optimal function during pregnancy and postpartum.
Leading prenatals dose even below outdated Recommended Dietary Allowances for most nutrients.*
Many prenatals also rely on less bioavailable nutrient forms. Even when a nutrient is included on the label, poor absorption can limit its effectiveness, and there is little consideration for an increased demand in nutrients across preconception, pregnancy, postpartum, and breastfeeding. Yet many prenatals are designed as if these stages don’t significantly alter physiological requirements.
Why RDAs Aren’t Built for Moms
One of the most overlooked issues in maternal nutrition is the foundation these guidelines are built on.
- Pregnant and breastfeeding women were excluded from 83% of studies used to establish Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) and RDAs.
- Many of these standards were developed decades ago, often using data derived primarily from men.
- RDAs define minimum intakes to avoid deficiency, not amounts needed for restoration, resilience, or long-term health.
As providers, we see the impact of this gap firsthand. When women follow these guidelines and still feel depleted, it’s not a failure of effort. It’s a failure of the standards themselves.
Today’s nutrition benchmarks do not reflect the real needs across The Motherspan™, from preconception through postpartum and beyond.
Choosing A Prenatal
It’s important to be intentional about supplementation for women’s health.
Needed’s Prenatal Multi Essentials is formulated with the understanding that many women enter pregnancy already depleted and need more than the bare minimum to rebuild and maintain nutrient stores.
What sets it apart:
- It contains optimal amounts of nutrients aligned with increased maternal demands.
- It is formulated with highly bioavailable forms to support absorption and utilization.
- It focuses on inclusion of nutrients that are often underdosed or omitted in standard prenatals.
- It provides 8x more nutrition than leading prenatals.*
Rather than aiming for adequacy, Needed formulates for nutrient repletion and optimization, a critical distinction during motherhood.
When choosing a prenatal, we encourage women to ask:
- Is this designed for optimal nourishment or just to meet outdated minimums?
- Are the nutrient forms well absorbed?
- Does it address depletion across preconception, pregnancy, and postpartum?
Moms deserve more than standards that ask them to function on empty. Needed’s Prenatal Multi Essentials reflects a shift toward honoring what mothers truly need to feel supported, nourished, and resilient.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
This post is sponsored by Needed, a brand we genuinely recommend to our patients and use personally.
*Based on Recommended Dietary Allowances, compared to leading prenatals as determined by IRI sales data as of December, 2025.
*Based on the total daily dosage of nutrients provided compared to leading prenatals as determined by IRI sales data as of December, 2025.
