In early 2019, Victoria’s daughter was born with a cleft lip without having any common risk factors or genetic link. As someone who had gone to great lengths to take all of the right vitamins, read all of the right research, and was lucky enough to have an incredible OB/GYN, Dr. Banafsheh Bayati, Victoria was shocked to learn how much was left unsaid and underserved for women during pregnancy.

The pair learned that this type of cleft was associated with a folic acid deficiency, which was particularly surprising given that

Victoria had sought a prenatal she trusted with folic acid. It turns out about 40 to 60 percent of women have a common genetic mutation called the MTHFR variant, which prevents them from converting folic acid into folate, the usable form of the nutrient. Folate intake during the first four to seven weeks of pregnancy is crucial, which makes the timing of nutrients key during pregnancy. It was all too clear that the industry’s one-size-fits-all approach to prenatal vitamins was not the right one.