All expecting moms share one thing—we want to give our babies the best start in life. But sometimes, it’s not clear what that actually looks like.
With each pregnancy, I learned a little more about what my body and growing baby truly needed. By my third, choosing the right prenatal vitamin was a big decision. I knew I wanted something that aligned with the latest science and didn’t just check the boxes—I wanted the best nutrition out there.
Prenatal care looks different for everyone. Some women rely solely on a whole-food diet. An integrative practitioner I worked with in Austin chose not to take prenatal supplements during any of her four pregnancies, instead nourishing her body with whole, nutrient-dense foods. Others turn to supplements to help fill nutritional gaps. For me, a mix of both has worked best.
A nutrient-rich diet is foundational, but with the nutritional gaps in our food today and the unique demands of pregnancy, a high-quality prenatal felt like an extra layer of support I wasn’t willing to skip. That’s how I found my way to Needed.
This post contains an affiliate link. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn a commission. Tiny Health only recommends products we’ve researched and stand behind.
It wasn’t a straight line
Like many things in life, figuring out what works takes trial and error. If you're like me—someone who believes in research and science but also trusts my intuition—then you know the feeling when something clicks.
That’s how it was when I first read Lily Nichols’ Real Food for Pregnancy—it became a sort of bible for me. With no universal nutrient guidelines for prenatal supplements and big differences between brands, Lily's book provided evidence-based insights that gave me clarity and confidence. It led to lectures and other books that piled up on my nightstand. Each one helped me make better choices during pregnancy and after my little ones were born.
Before discovering Needed, I tried a few different brands. For my first two pregnancies, I took a store-bought prenatal that, in hindsight, wasn’t really cutting it. The doses were low—no one wants to take triple the recommended serving size just to meet today's guidelines, especially when the suggested dose is already three capsules twice a day. And the nutrients were only partially bioavailable, meaning they weren’t in a form the body could easily absorb.
Later, when I was trying to conceive again, I started using a brand that had the dosage Nichols recommended in her book. But it contained magnesium stearate—an additive used in many supplements to improve flow and consistency—which can irritate the gut lining. Then I got pregnant and knew I didn’t want to be taking it daily, especially in the high doses required for a complete prenatal.
Months in, I had a miscarriage. Then I had another.
As I grieved and tried to process the uncertainty, I found comfort in focusing on what I could control—like my diet, exercise routine, and supplements.
I’d heard about Needed before I met Ryan, one of their co-founders. She was a Tiny+ Member, and I’ve personally walked her through her kids’ baby gut test results. Functional health practitioners I trust also recommend them, and plenty of wellness enthusiasts in our community swear by it, too.
When I read through their research, I liked that they did their own studies instead of following outdated guidelines that tend to underestimate nutritional needs.
How I went from curiosity to sharing what I learned
When you’re pregnant, you want to know exactly what you’re putting into your body—but with supplements, that’s not always guaranteed. Since the FDA doesn't regulate them, many don’t actually contain what’s listed on the label. In fact, independent testing has found that 60–70% of supplements don’t match their marketed ingredients [1], [2].
That’s shocking.
Because Tiny Health recommends probiotics, we did our own experiments. We tested well-known brands—and the results weren’t great. About 70% didn’t contain the strains they advertised. That’s why, in our Action Plans, we only recommend supplements we’ve vetted and trust.
There's one big takeaway here: when you're shopping for any supplement, look for brands that openly share their third-party testing.
Heavy metals in prenatal supplements are another big concern—especially since so many products contain them without clear labeling [3]. Reading Real Food for Pregnancy made me more mindful of details like bioavailability and dosing. I also believe it’s up to us to be our own advocates and make sure we’re actually getting what our bodies and babies need. The more I learned about the huge differences in prenatal quality, the more determined I was to find one that truly delivered.
Here’s what made Needed stand out for me:
- Nutrients your body can actually use – The forms and doses matter. Needed uses bioavailable versions of 22+ vitamins and minerals at optimal levels, providing next-level nutritional support for our bodies and babies without unnecessary fillers.
- Rigorous third-party testing – Every batch is tested for purity and potency, so you know it’s free from heavy metals, pesticides, and solvents.
- Formulated by practitioners – I love the fact that Needed works with over 6,000 practitioners to create formulas based on what pregnant moms actually need—not the standardized government recommendations.
- More of what matters – Many prenatals fall short in key nutrients, but Needed includes 16 times more choline (critical for our baby’s developing brain) and seven times more vitamin D3 than standard options.
Choosing between powder and capsules
Needed offers both a powder and a capsule version of their Prenatal Multi, which gave me a lot of flexibility. I initially went with the powder because I liked mixing it into my smoothies and chia breakfasts. When I eat scrambled eggs or protein pancakes, I take the pills. The nutrients are the same between the two, so it really comes down to what I’m eating that day.
Most of the time, I split the dosage—four pills before breakfast and four pills before lunch—so that the nutrients are better absorbed into my system throughout the day.
The first time I tried it, I noticed it turned my breakfast (overnight chia or oatmeal) yellow. I later learned that’s because of the supplement's natural sources of riboflavin, lutein, and beta-carotene.
I also take Needed’s Collagen Protein. I had been using Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides Powder from Costco but decided to switch because I trust Needed’s formulation. Plus, I like that their hydrolyzed collagen protein is ethically sourced from the hides of grass-fed, pasture-raised, hormone-free bovines, and I specifically look for those standards.
Collagen production naturally starts declining in our mid-20s. Since collagen supports your skin, joints, bones, and even hair, it’s especially important during and after pregnancy. I add it to my smoothies, oatmeal, and chia bowls and even mix it into my kids’ breakfasts.
Few companies meet the demands of pregnancy well
One of the biggest things I've learned is that there are no universal nutrient guidelines for prenatal care. Many conventional brands barely cover the basics, focusing on folate while overlooking other key nutrients like choline, vitamin D, and magnesium. It takes decades for new research to influence official recommendations, which means many prenatal products on shelves today are still based on decades-old science.
I also believe that prenatal supplements should never replace a whole-food diet. I worked hard to eat well during pregnancy—lots of regeneratively grown grass-finished meats, organic produce, wild-caught seafood, salmon roe, avocados, eggs, homemade fermented foods, and plenty of fiber. But even with that, I knew I couldn’t track every single nutrient intake daily, and that’s why I appreciated having a well-designed prenatal to fill in the gaps.
Finding the support you can count on
If I could give one piece of advice to moms-to-be, it would be to take your time researching prenatal options. I’m a researcher at heart, so I love digging into the details, but I know it can feel daunting. What helped me was focusing on one thing at a time. If you’re early in pregnancy or trying to conceive, spend a month reading about prenatal nutrition. Once you feel confident in that choice, move on to the next decision—whether that’s taking a Pregnancy Gut Health Test, selecting a birth team, planning for postpartum, or something else entirely.
A one-step-at-a-time approach helped me stay balanced while navigating life as a mom, wife, and founder.
Most importantly, choose brands you genuinely trust. For me, that was Needed. They take a radically different approach to women’s nutrition, and I’m thankful to have had their support throughout my pregnancy.
If you’re interested in trying it yourself, use code TINYHEALTH for 20% off your first purchase.
