wtf?? i don't understand!

Says who?
If that was the case, the human race would have died off a long time ago.

you don't need prenatals to have a healthy pregnancy. (again, does not apply to WLS patients)

I think we can all agree that the human race can survive and, in the right conditions, thrive without prenatal vitamins. There is obviously some immaturity on this girls part to boast about not choosing to supplement - c'mon, we know the American diet is ****! I mean who does that!!!!!!!!
She might as well of said "I got bombed last night and drove home @ 90 mph on a major interstate that was under construction!" Would we still say *her choice* even though she's putting innocent lives at risk?
Just my 2 cents.

I hear what you're saying, but it's not a chance I'd be willing to take. I can't imagine being able to live with myself after having a child with a birth defect that I could have avoided had I just taken a vitamin once a day. Motherhood begins preconception.  

On another note, I am a speech language pathologist and most of my kids come from a very very low socioeconomic status. Running water and electricity are luxuries to some of my kids. Interestingly enough, my caseload has the highest number of poor children and also has the highest number of special needs children. I don't think it's coincidence. Research clearly shows that healthy diets lead to healthier pregnancies and babies. There are many children that I serve that only get to eat the lunch and breakfast they are served at school and the non perishables that we send home , These children present in prek with significant speech/language delays. I'm not laying blame either, some of these mamas are truly doing their very best. And yes, I talk to child protective services frequently, not to have the kids taken away, but to get the families the help they need.

This is an area I think you have to walk carefully and keep your opinion to yourself just like religion and politics at work. Many people have widely different views on raising children (including baking them for 9months). I might just say something like I am glad your babies are nice and healthy but with my personal nutriental needs I am looking into different prenatals.

You might find from your blood lvls you don't even need all the extra stuff. Just a folic acid or an iron. Whatever your body has need of.

When asking others for advice I would listen politely but always make my own decision and not just follow the masses who say I *MUST* have so and so thing. Just my 2 cents.

Yeah you have to tread lightly on this subject. It's been proven that folic acid reduces some birth defects but I don't know about any others. Like I said before, the baby will take whatever it needs from your body, even it leaves you stripped. Not taking supplements can put you at higer risk for fatigue, anemia, and future bone disease. So I think taking the vitamins are primarily for mom's benefit.
This is generalized, of course. An RNY or DS patient should definitely supplement since we malabsorb everything and our food intake is limited.
I was 19 when I got pregnant with my daughter. I knew nothing about vitamins and the clinic I went to gave me these big nasty horse pills that I never took. I ate a lot of cereal with milk and ate pretty healthy, but never took any vitamins. Anyway, my daughter is 13 now and has autism and I always wonder if something I did different could have made the outcome better.

Oh, Chelle, There is nothing, nothing, nothing you could have done differently to affect your daughter and her autism diagnosis. I know there is nothing I can say that will reassure you, but I know you are a great mom, and I am confident that you would go to the ends of the earth for your family ... It breaks my heart that you might blame yourself. :(

Thank you :)

chelle... dont blame your self.. its nothing you did or didnt do... sometimes things happen... sometimes they dont

Chelle-
SLP's are supposed to be pretty knowledgeable about autism. In addition to everything I was taught in undergrad and grad school, I have attended every workshop and conference I could about autism, I am certified in the many different autism programs. The single most readily accepted thing that rings true in EVERY workshop/seminar that I've attended? No one knows what the hell is going on!! So if the doctors can't give us answers then there's no way to know what is happening to these babies. The point of my spiel.... YOU are NOT to blame!!! YOU did not make your daughter have autism. If you don't know what causes something, then you don't know how to avoid it, and therefor you cannot possibly held accountable! You did absolutely nothing wrong. There is absolutely NO research that says that taking vitamins or anything else decreases the risks of having a child with autism. Actually, autism is more prevalent in higher income families who have more readily available access to vitamins and such. Go figure!

alot of women puke up their vitiamans... which is just about the same as not taking it... your baby wont have 4 eyes because you dont take a vitiman... you might end up with brittle bones.... humans have been around for a very long time... and until recently they didnt take vitiamans ... vitimans or no vitiamans... there are still people born ****** up.