You might’ve noticed that our formula’s 1 mg of Vitamin B12 is well above the amount that’s typically recommended per day in pregnancy. But there are good reasons for that! First, it’s important to understand how crucial B12 is in pregnancy. Along with its better-known counterpart Folic Acid, Vitamin B12 helps keep homocysteine from building up. That’s crucial because high levels of homocysteine have been linked to neural tube defects, pregnancy loss, preterm delivery, restricted fetal growth, preeclampsia and other cardiovascular complications. Unfortunately, it can be hard for your body to get enough B12 without a little help. In your diet, you can only get it from animal products, and your absorption can be affected by certain autoimmune conditions or even just taking antacids.Because it’s so critical for pregnancy (and before, so that you can build up enough stores by the time the neural tube develops in early pregnancy!), it’s important to cover your B12 bases with a prenatal supplement. There’s no set upper limit for Vitamin B12 nor is there an established toxic level, but our naturopathic doctors suggest that optimal levels should be much higher than the recommended daily allowance. That’s why we pack 1 mg of a bioavailable form of Vitamin B12 called Methylcobalamin in The Prenatal Essentials for Females, The Power Prenatal for Females and The Gentle Prenatal. Learn more about Vitamin B12 on The Nest.