Less Nausea for a Price: Moms Weigh In on Ritual Prenatal Vitamins

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So, you’re pregnant, and now you’re looking up must-have lists of everything you need to buy for this new journey.

If this is your first baby, you might be feeling a touch overwhelmed. If you’ve been here, done this, you may be trying to keep your shopping cart as light as possible while gazing out at the gear and toys that have encroached on your living spaces.

In either case, many would argue that a quality prenatal vitamin should be at the top of the shopping list. And if you’re on social media, you’ve likely heard of Ritual.

Ritual is a highly talked about subscription supplement company known for transparency in its manufacturing and traceable plant-based ingredients that are free of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and most allergens.

Ritual’s prenatal tops our best prenatal vitamins list, due to its ingredient quality and nutritional makeup. Most of the women we spoke with echoed the popular claim that Ritual greatly reduced their nausea, possibly because of a delayed-release capsule design, which the company says is gentler on your stomach.

Ritual vitamins on whole are more expensive than most retail brands, and its prenatal is no exception, although it is comparable or slightly less expensive than similar subscription vitamins.

It’s worth noting that Ritual’s prenatal contains only 10% of the recommended amount of choline, which is essential for fetal development. If you chose this product, our dietitians recommend consuming additional choline through food sources.

As all pregnant women learn, what works for one mom can flop for another. So, for this review, we included a range of perspectives about Ritual prenatal vitamins.

‘Exactly what I needed’

“My first two pregnancies were a mess. I was nauseated, weak, and pretty much miserable from the moment of conception until the end,” said Christine Luna. “My memory of carrying both of my daughters is plagued with exhaustion, an inability to sleep, and the worst nausea you can imagine.”

Luna had taken prenatal vitamins during both pregnancies, but she wasn’t choosy about brands. “I bought whatever [one] was the cheapest at the store. I figured it was wiser to spend my money on the gear we would need, like a crib,” she said.

When she found out she was pregnant a third time, those earlier experiences weighed heavily on her mind. She was working part time and with toddlers at home, she knew she couldn’t afford to feel exhausted and sick for months on end.

Some women in her moms’ group swore by Ritual’s prenatal, so she decided to give it a try. Within a few days, she noticed she had less pain and was sleeping better. Best of all? “My nausea lessened and my energy increased — which was exactly what I needed since I had two preschoolers that I had to keep up with,” she said.

Alaina McCartney had a similar experience when she switched to Ritual after trying two different prenatals that she couldn’t keep down. She attributes the reduction in her nausea to Ritual’s time-release capsules, and the added lemon flavor tab.

“I’m not usually one to splurge on name-brand things, but once I went Ritual, I’ll never go back,” she said.

It made me feel better knowing I was putting something high quality into my body.

— Hannah Hillson

After having three kids, Hannah Hillson switched to a plant-based diet, so it was important to her to find a vegan prenatal vitamin for her fourth pregnancy.

She tried vegan products she found at Target and even a prescription prenatal, but said she experienced nausea with all of them. Other than some burping, she didn’t have any issues with Ritual.

And knowing that the vitamins are made from traceable sources, are tested for things like heavy metals, and are free of GMOs, added peace of mind.

“I had a complicated first trimester,” Hillson said. “It made me feel better knowing I was putting something high quality in my body during this time.”

‘One less thing to think about’

When Katey Daniels was trying to get pregnant, she was concerned about getting enough folic acid so began taking the prenatal option of a popular gummy vitamin she already used. But the taste was so off-putting, she admits she didn’t take them regularly.

When she did become pregnant, she tried Perelel’s prenatal vitamin packs, but the taste and the number of pills required were incompatible with her all-day “morning” sickness, she said.

A friend recommended Ritual. “The lemon taste was much kinder to my sensitive stomach, and it was so much easier to take just two pills than a whole handful,” Daniels said. “I felt that I was still getting a robust, complex vitamin to meet my health needs without any of the negative tastes I found in other products.”

It was so much easier to take just two pills than a whole handful.

— Katey Daniels

She continued with Ritual’s prenatal until she was able to switch to the brand’s postnatal vitamin. She planned to take its women’s multivitamin after that.

Daniels also appreciated Ritual’s subscription model. Having the vitamins automatically sent to her before she runs out, she said, gave her “one less thing to think about.”

‘Not cost-efficient’

Not everyone we spoke with felt that Ritual was worth the price. At $39 for a 30-day supply, it costs more than most retail brands but is comparable or slightly less than other subscription brands.

Monika Patel tried Ritual during her second pregnancy, after learning about it on social media. But she stopped after a few months. She’d taken Nature Made’s prenatal during her first pregnancy and didn’t notice any difference using Ritual. She decided the added expense wasn’t worth it. “Nature Made had a better price point,” she said.

“It’s a pill a day for a year,” she continued. “[Ritual] was not cost-efficient for me.”

Rachel Contini also switched to Nature Made, after trying Ritual for just a week. “It made me so nauseous,” she recalled, often within an hour after taking the vitamin.

“I switched to Nature Made’s prenatal with DHA. I had no nausea. [And] Nature Made’s was significantly more affordable.”

The upside? Contini found Ritual’s customer service fast and efficient in honoring the company’s 30-day return policy and refunding her money.