How do I get Healthy Start vitamins from a midwife or pharmacy?

What are Healthy Start vitamins, and who are they for?

The NHS Healthy Start vitamins page says people on the scheme are entitled to free Healthy Start vitamins. There are two products. Tablets are for people who are pregnant or breastfeeding a child under one, and contain folic acid, vitamin C and vitamin D. Drops are for children from birth to four and contain vitamins A, C and D. NHS says they do not contain milk, egg, gluten, soya or peanut residues, and they are suitable for vegetarian and halal diets.

NHS pregnancy pages say most people should take 400 micrograms of folic acid daily until the end of the first 12 weeks, and that Healthy Start is one route to free vitamins if you qualify. Higher-dose folic acid is a GP conversation on those pages — not something this guide decides. Scheme rules say you cannot give the vitamins to anyone else or sell them.

How do I collect them in England or Wales?

NHS wording is: ask your midwife or health visitor where to get your free vitamins, and show your NHS Healthy Start card when you collect them. That is the collection rule — not a Tesco Clubcard, not an Asda pharmacy folic-acid promotion.

1. 1
   Be on the scheme and have the card Vitamins are for people already entitled on NHS Healthy Start. If you do not have a card yet, apply first (England, Wales or Northern Ireland). Scotland uses Best Start Foods, not these vitamins.
2. 2
   Ask the midwife or health visitor They hold the local list of collection points. In England, the vitamins page also links to a local stockist search. In Wales, it links to community pharmacy collection points.
3. 3
   Show the Healthy Start card NHS says you need to show the card when you collect. A supermarket receipt or a photo of a different brand of folic acid is not the scheme.
4. 4
   Collect the product that matches the age Tablets for you in pregnancy or while breastfeeding a child under one. Drops for the child from birth to four, unless they are on 500ml or more of formula a day — NHS says they do not need the drops in that case.

The NHS pregnancy vitamins page also says you can buy vitamin supplements from pharmacies, supermarkets and online, and that you may be able to get free vitamin supplements with Healthy Start. Buying a branded bottle at a pharmacy is a different route from collecting the free Healthy Start product with the card.

How do I get them in Northern Ireland?

You do not collect from a midwife desk in the same way. NHS says that once you are on the scheme, a letter or email explains how to request free Healthy Start vitamins. Healthy Start checks the request and sends the order to the Business Services Organisation in Northern Ireland, which posts the vitamins to you.

NHS says that letter or email should arrive within 10 working days of a successful application. If it has not arrived after 10 days, or you cannot find it, call 0300 330 7010 and they will send a new one.

Does a baby on formula still need the drops?

NHS repeats the same line on the vitamins page: if your child is having 500ml or more of formula a day, they do not need Healthy Start vitamins, because formula already has vitamins added. Drops can be used from birth if the baby is breastfed, and for children under four who have less than 500ml (about one pint) of infant formula a day. NHS says you or your children should not take more than the recommended amount.

This is NHS product guidance, not extra supplement advice. For pregnancy folic acid dose, neural-tube-defect risk, or vitamin A in other multivitamins, use the NHS pregnancy vitamins pages and a midwife, GP or pharmacist.

In shortAsk the midwife or health visitor, take the Healthy Start card, and collect the NHS product — tablets in pregnancy and while breastfeeding a child under one, drops from birth to four unless the child is on 500ml+ formula a day. Northern Ireland is a postal request, not a supermarket pick-up.