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I’m not exaggerating– at least ten of my friends subscribe to Ritual Vitamins (and I don’t have that many friends). Thanks primarily to Instagram, they’re insanely popular. They’re also a bit of a splurge, so I kept telling myself I’d hold out until it was time to start taking prenatal vitamins. Kyle and I are in that general kind-of-trying-to-have-kids vicinity, so I finally bit the bullet and signed up for their monthly prenatal vitamin subscription. I’ve been taking Ritual prenatal vitamins for about six months now, and since it’s a new year and every woman needs a good multi-vitamin, I wanted to share my thoughts with y’all in today’s post. Keep reading for a completely honest (and in no way sponsored) Ritual prenatal vitamins review!
Just a note— I’m not a doctor, nor am I an expert in nutrition. I’m just a skeptical consumer who likes to research (A) what goes inside my body and (B) whether or not I’m wasting my money. Just wanted to clarify!
Ritual Prenatal Vitamins Review
I figured there’s no better way to structure this Ritual Vitamins review than a classic Q&A style format. If I leave any questions/topics out, please let me know in the comments!
What’s in Ritual Prenatal Vitamins?
According to my doctor, all the good stuff. Specifically, though, the following twelve ingredients, which are intended to prep your body for pregnancy and support your nutrient needs–
- Folate (aka folic acid)
- Omega-3 DHA
- Vitamin B12
- Choline (which I’d never heard of but is important for your health and for fetal brain development and placental function)
- Iodine
- Biotin
- Vitamin D
- Iron
- Boron
- Vitamin E
- Vitamin K2
- Magnesium
Do Ritual Prenatal Vitamins make you sick?
Short answer– no.
Longer answer– I have to be really careful with vitamins. If I don’t take them with food– or even the right amount of food, it’s almost guaranteed that I’ll get sick. That does not happen with Ritual prenatal vitamins, and it’s probably my favorite thing about them. Their delayed-release capsules are literally designed to be easy on your stomach, which is particularly reassuring when thinking about future bouts of morning sickness.
How do Ritual Prenatal Vitamins taste?
Okay, here’s my only real gripe with Ritual Vitamins– I was told by a friend that all their vitamins are infused (or essenced? is that a word?) with fresh flavors to keep them smelling and tasting pleasant. I believe their standard women’s multi-vitamins are infused with mint, and their prenatal vitamins are “essenced” with lemon.
That being said, there’s a citrus tab in every bottle of their pre-natal vitamins that definitely keeps them smelling fresh, which is fun. The taste, on the other hand, just isn’t a thing. In fact, these are the only multivitamins that have ever given me “fish burps,” for lack of a better term. So, yeah… the taste isn’t great.
How expensive are Ritual Prenatals?
Whenever they’re not on sale (which, FYI, they are right now!), Ritual prenatal vitamins are $35 per bottle, which is inclusive of shipping and a 30-day money back guarantee.
It seems like they’re on the far end of the pricier side of vitamins, but I consider them an investment in self-care. Also, compared to some other similar prenatals, they’re actually not that bad, especially when you factor in the vegan ingredients and non-GMO verification. They’re eligible for FSA/HSA reimbursement, too, which is a plus.
Still, here’s how Ritual compares to five other popular prenatal vitamins brands price-wise (as of 1/18/22)–
- Care/of Baby Love Prenatal Vitamin Packs– $18.99/month
- Personal Prenatal Vitamins– $.84/day (or $25.20 for a 30-day supply)
- Megafood Baby & Me 2 Prenatal Multivitamin– $29.49/month
- Nature Made Prenatal Multivitamin– $18.99 for a 90-day supply (or $6.33 for a 30-day supply)
- Garden of Life Raw Prenatal Vitamin– $32.19 for a 30-day supply
Is it easy to cancel your Ritual subscription?
I’m super wary of subscription services, so I mean when I say that Ritual makes it incredibly easy to pause and/or cancel your subscription. All you have to do is log into your account and then click Account –> Edit or Cancel Subscription. Seriously that easy. No annoying phone calls, forms, or email confirmations required.
How are Ritual Vitamins different than other prenatals?
When I first looked into Ritual vitamins, I thought the primary differences between their and other brands’ prenatal vitamins were convenience and wayyy better branding. I’ve since learned, though, that the differences really do go far beyond marketing.
Ritual really hones in on clean and “traceable” nutrients. They want you to know exactly what you’re putting in your body, and I’m a big fan of the transparency. You can look on their website and see the ins and outs of Ritual’s supply chain (ie. where all the nutrients are coming from) for all of their products. Their vitamins are also vegan, gluten and major allergen-free, and non-GMO verified.
So, in short, the main differences are quality of ingredients, convenience, and (it still needs to be said) wayyy better branding.
Are Ritual Vitamins worth the hype?
For me personally, the jury’s still out on if and/or how they support a healthy pregnancy. As far as everything else goes, though, they’re pretty awesome. Here are my three favorite things about Ritual Vitamins—
1. Convenience
For pretty much the first time ever, I actually really love the subscription model. They show up at my door as expected every month, so I’m never at risk of running out. Also, I’ve had a few blips when I forgot to take them on longer vacations with me, so I ended up with two full extra bottles at one point. All I had to do to get back on track was log in to my account, push the next delivery date out eight weeks, and click update. Seriously that simple.
2. Smart Capsules
Ritual has the logistics of their prenatal vitamins down pat. The delayed-release capsule design makes them tolerable for even the most sensitive stomachs (like mine), and the design combines both oily and dry ingredients in one capsule, making it possible to get all the nutrients you need in two, relatively-small-sized daily pills.
3. Side Effects
Again, I can’t really speak to the neural tube development or healthy birth weight support (yet– I’ll update my Ritual prenatal vitamins review when I can), but I can speak to the fact that my skin looks better than ever and my nails are the strongest they’ve ever been. I also love that I don’t need to take a separate Biotin, Vitamin D, and/or Vitamin E supplement (among others).
Have you tried Ritual Vitamins yet? If you have, I’d love to know your thoughts! If you haven’t, let me know if you have any other questions. I love hearing from you guys, and I’m happy to help!
Also, if you’re not taking prenatals, Ritual also created postnatal vitamins and multivitamins for men (18+ and 50+), women (18+ and 50+), and teens (13-17). They also just came out with sugar-free gummy vitamins for kiddos (4-12), too, which is pretty fun.