Action Plan: Take a prenatal vitamin each day

 

Make a plan to take your prenatal vitamin each day. Use a tracker to record when you take your prenatal vitamin. Trackers help you to see patterns in your habits. This will help you see what is working, what is not working, and why. 

STEP 1: Choose a time of day that will be easiest for taking the prenatal vitamin. Take at the same time as another habit you already have (for example, eating breakfast, brushing teeth, going to bed.)

STEP 2: Try some of these tips to help you remember to take your prenatal vitamin.

  • Keep your prenatal vitamins in a visible place (but away from young children) so you see them each day. For example, near your car keys, or on a kitchen counter.
  • Keep a few in your purse in case you forget to take them before you leave the house.
  • Set an alarm on your phone.
  • Write a reminder on your calendar.
  • Post a sticky note reminder in your bathroom.

STEP 3: Track your vitamin-taking habit. 

  • Use a chart like the one below to track each day you take your prenatal vitamin. A printable blank version is available at the bottom of this page. Or, you can make your own in a notebook or a piece of paper!
  • Add the month to the top. 
  • For every day you take your vitamin, mark it down with a ✓ checkmark.
  • If you forget to take it, mark with an ✘.
  • Keep this tracker next to your prenatal vitamins. 

STEP 4: Track your vitamin-taking habit. Look at the chain of ‘✓’ checkmarks you have. See how long of a chain of checkmarks you can get. Work to not break that chain. Focus on one day at a time and small wins (how long you can make your chain.)

If you break the chain after a set number of days, that becomes your longest streak. Set your next goal to beat that streak.

An example chart with checkmarks showing when a prenatal vitamin was taken.

If you find yourself forgetting often, change your routine to something else that may work better. 

SAVE And Print

Download a printable version of this action plan. This includes a blank monthly tracker. If you need to track more months, you can print more pages!
Interested in journaling and using more trackers during your pregnancy? Try our Pregnancy Tracker Journal.