Vitamin A in pregnancy

Getting the right amount of vitamin A in pregnancy has several benefits for both you and your baby. Firstly, it contributes to the development of one of the most intricate and extraordinary parts of your baby’s body – their eyes².

Vitamin A in pregnancy contributes to healthy immune system function, foetal development and growth^{2, 3}. It can also support the health and function of your baby’s organs, for example the lungs in cases of vitamin A deficiency, helping to develop the millions of tiny air sacs, called alveoli. These allow oxygen to transfer into the blood, and carbon dioxide to transfer back out⁴.

Infants are born with low stores of vitamin A³, and will get the rest of the vitamin A they need from external sources such as formula milk or breast milk. This is why it’s important to explore and maintain a healthy breastfeeding diet.

Getting the right amount of vitamin A while pregnant is a bit of a balancing act. Too much can harm your developing baby and lead to birth defects, while too little carries certain risks to you and your baby’s development. A healthy intake will ensure that your baby gets the nutritional support they need for normal growth and development.

Pregnant women need a little more vitamin A in pregnancy than they usually would⁵. The daily RNI of vitamin A for pregnant women is 700 micrograms, which is 100 micrograms more than for the average female adult⁶. To put this into context, half a cup of raw carrots contains 459 micrograms of vitamin A, and half a cup of broccoli contains 60 micrograms of vitamin A⁷.

There’s no reason why you can’t get all the vitamin A you need from the foods you eat in your diet, although you don’t need a supply of it every day. This is because vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin that your body can build up stores of in your liver. As such, any vitamin A your body doesn’t use straight away is stored away to be used in the future⁸.

While a healthy intake of vitamin A is important throughout your pregnancy, your risk of deficiency is higher during your third trimester, when requirements increase due to your baby’s accelerated development and increased blood volume. During pregnancy, your body naturally prioritises your baby’s needs, which is why you need more⁹.

You may have heard your doctor or midwife talk about some of the foods that you should avoid, some of which on the basis that they contain too high levels of vitamin A. But why is vitamin A bad in pregnancy?

Too much vitamin A can be harmful to your baby during pregnancy, causing damage to the development of their nervous system¹⁰. As such, pregnant women (and those who are planning to have a baby) are advised against eating certain foods that contain high doses of vitamin A such as liver, and all liver products, for example pâté⁸.

The current advice from the NHS is that it’s not recommended for pregnant women to take doses of vitamin A via a supplement¹¹, or to take other supplements that are high in vitamin A such as cod liver or fish liver oil⁸. If you intend to take a prenatal supplement, or multivitamins, be sure to check how much vitamin A these contain, and always speak to your doctor or midwife to ensure that it’s safe to take during your pregnancy.

Vitamin A deficiency is the leading cause of blindness across the globe¹², so whilst too much vitamin A in pregnancy can be harmful, it’s important that you get just the amount that you need. 

Vitamin A plays a vital role during pregnancy, and some studies have shown that low levels can result in birth defects¹², as well as affecting the development of your baby’s immune function after birth, leaving them more susceptible to infection and illness¹³. 

Vitamin A is found in dairy foods, oily fish and some fruit and vegetables. It comes in two forms; retinol and beta-carotene.

Retinol is a form of vitamin A that comes from animal-derived foods¹⁴, such as¹:

• Cheese 
• Eggs (you can read more about eating eggs in pregnancy here)
• Dark leafy green vegetables such as spinach

Vitamin A is also found in liver and liver products, but as discussed above, you’re advised against consuming these products during pregnancy.

You can also include foods containing beta-carotene into your diet. Beta-carotene is a plant pigment and natural antioxidant that the body converts into Vitamin A¹⁵. Good sources of beta-carotene include orange-coloured fruits and vegetables such as⁸:

• Carrots
• Butternut squash
• Melon 
• Apricots 
• Sweet potato 
• Red peppers

Try increasing your intake with these vitamin A-rich snacks and meals: 

• Apricot, mixed seed & vanilla muesli 
• Blackberry & raspberry ginger yoghurt pots 
• A hard-boiled egg 
• Sweet potato with homemade beans & feta 

The best way for you to get all the nutrients, vitamins and minerals that you need during your pregnancy is by eating a healthy, balanced diet containing a wide variety of different foods.

Some supplements aren’t safe to use during pregnancy, such as cod liver oil, or any supplement that uses fish liver oil, as these can be harmful to your growing baby¹⁵. However, there are some vitamins that are very important for your baby’s growth and development during pregnancy, and as such the NHS recommends that you should take the following supplements¹⁶:

Folic acid - you should take 400 micrograms of folic acid every day. This should start prior to your pregnancy if you’re planning to have a baby, and should continue until you’re 12 weeks pregnant.

Vitamin D - you should take 10 micrograms between September and March when the amount of sunlight we get is limited.

You might be thinking about taking some prenatal vitamins, or you may well be taking multivitamins daily. To be on the safe side, and to ensure that you’re getting the right amount of each vitamin that you need, it’s always a good idea to speak with your doctor or midwife before doing so in pregnancy.