How to track prenatal vitamins and medicines during pregnancy

When pregnancy begins, your medicine cabinet starts to change too: a vitamin your doctor or midwife suggested, something you picked up at the pharmacy, a medicine you already used and now need to ask about… Add check-up dates, weeks and questions, and it gets harder to remember what started when. This post shows you a simple, tidy way to keep medicine and vitamin records during pregnancy; it's not about which products to use, but about how to note down the ones you do.

Why do pregnancy medicine and vitamin records need their own system?

During pregnancy you may see several healthcare professionals: an obstetrician, a midwife, your GP, a dentist, a pharmacist. Each of them might suggest something or ask about a product you already use. When information comes from different people, it isn't easy to remember months later who said what.

On top of that, in pregnancy it matters to check with a healthcare professional not only about prescription medicines but also about over-the-counter medicines, herbal products and supplements. So the purpose of your log isn't to make decisions; it's to give the person who decides a clear picture. Seeing what you use, when you started and how it's going in one place makes the conversation at your appointment easier.

Our post with 6 tips for tracking vitamins and supplements covers the basics. This one looks at the details that are specific to pregnancy: who suggested what, which week you started and what to take to your appointment.

What should you record for each product?

Your log doesn't need to be long, but filling in the same headings for every product makes it much easier to read later. When you add a product to your list, try noting:

• Full name: Exactly as it appears on the box or label. Writing the product's own name instead of "pregnancy vitamin" prevents mix-ups later.
• Type: Prescription medicine, over-the-counter medicine, vitamin, herbal product or cream, for example.
• Start date and week: The day you started and which week of pregnancy you were in.
• Who suggested it: Your doctor, midwife, pharmacist or another healthcare professional, plus the date of that conversation.
• How you were told to use it: In the professional's words, without adding your own interpretation.
• Stopping or changing: If you stopped or switched a product, the date and who suggested it.

Which product to use, how much and when are things your healthcare professional decides for you; your log simply helps you remember accurately what you were told. If you're unsure about something, it's better to add an "ask at check-up" note than to write down your own guess.

Taken or skipped: a daily mark

Days in pregnancy can be very different from one another. A queasy morning, a long workday or a tired evening can mean you skip something you usually take. Instead of seeing that as a failure, logging it as it is shows the real picture.

1. Make a short mark every day. Taken if you took it, skipped if you didn't. An empty day is information too: it means no record was kept that day.
2. Write the reason for skipping in one sentence. Short notes like "felt sick", "wasn't home" or "ran out" are useful at your appointment.
3. Note what you notice. If something bothers you after starting a product, write down the date and what it was. This is an observation, not an interpretation; leave the assessment to your doctor or midwife.
4. Don't decide on your own how to make up for a skipped day. Ask your pharmacist or doctor what to do in that case, and only write down what you're told.

If you notice a change that worries you, contact a healthcare professional without waiting for your next check-up. In something that seems urgent, such as severe pain, call the emergency number in your country.

Before adding a new product

When you want to add a new medicine, vitamin or herbal product to your list during pregnancy, the first step isn't logging it but asking. Whether it's a friend's tip, a suggestion you read online or an old box at home: before you start, ask your doctor, midwife or pharmacist.

Telling the pharmacist you're pregnant when buying an over-the-counter product, and mentioning it when you see another professional such as a dentist, is a good habit. Your log helps here too: you can read everything you use straight from the list without leaving anything out.

• Write down who you asked and when.
• Note the answer you got in a short sentence.
• Carry the "go ahead" or "wait" answer over into your log.
• Add any answer you're unsure about to the question list for your next check-up.

Taking your records to a check-up

Check-up days are usually busy, and some of the questions on your mind can slip away in the moment. Looking through your medicine and vitamin log a few days before and making a short list makes the appointment more productive.

• The full list of products you're using now.
• Products you've started, stopped or changed since your last check-up.
• The reason, if there's a product you often skip.
• Changes you've noticed and want to ask about.
• Any new product you're thinking of using.

To see your appointment dates together, take a look at keeping pregnancy check-up dates in one calendar, and to collect questions in advance, see 5 steps to gather questions for your pregnancy appointments. Logging the answers you get on the same day helps you remember what was discussed at the next visit.

Keeping pregnancy medicine and vitamin records in Oveluni

Oveluni is a personal records app for iPhone. You start pregnancy tracking yourself in the Women's Health area of your Women's Profile; the app shows your week based on the dates you enter, and you can turn on pregnancy week reminders if you like. You add each product you use with New medication plan in Quick add, type its name and type, and enter how to use it as your healthcare professional told you. As the app itself reminds you, this is the plan you entered; it is not a medical verification.

When you turn on medication reminders, notifications arrive on your iPhone or Apple Watch; with "Hide medication names" in Notification Privacy, you can keep product names off the lock screen. Each day you mark taken or skipped with an Intake log entry, and add who suggested a product or a change you noticed with A note. In Summaries you see taken, skipped and no record days for the period you choose. Before a check-up you can prepare a 7, 30 or 90-day PDF report; the "Include notes" option is off by default. For details, see the Women's Profile page. Oveluni is coming soon to the App Store.

Sources

1. NHS: Medicines in pregnancy
2. MedlinePlus: Pregnancy and medicines