Vitamin A's Role During Pregnancy

An estimated 26% of pregnant women do not get enough vitamin A in their diet. Vitamin A plays a big role in early fetal development , helps decrease the risk for miscarriages & is required for proper immune function

The RDA during pregnancy is 770 mcg per day, which you can get from both supplements or food sources.

In supplements, vitamin A is usually reported in IU (international units) on the labels. If all the vitamin A is from beta carotene, up to 10,000IU is allowed. If your vitamin contains retinyl palmitate or retinyl acetate, there shouldn’t be more than 2,500 IU from these two.

Vitamin A toxicity ☠️ is estimated to occur in 75% of people in developed nations so it is important to get your levels checked early on & monitor them throughout. This is why limiting artificial vitamin A in supplementation form may be wise.

Most people think of beta-carotene when they hear of vitamin A found in yellow & orange fruits & vegetables - but there is another type of vitamin A known as retinol which is only found in animal products, most famously beef liver. Beef liver is also high in bioavailable copper & iron which can be a great source to prevent anemia.

When our body needs retinol it converts beta-carotene to retinol, but this conversion & absorption process is very poor, at most 22%. This is also dependent on having good bile flow & high consumption of fatty foods since we need fat to absorb vitamin A.

The WHO defines Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) in pregnancy as serum retinol levels of <0.70 µmol/L. VAD is more frequent in the last quarter of pregnancy because of the physiological increase in maternal blood volume & accelerated fetal development in the final phase of pregnancy.

One thing to take into consideration is that excess vitamin D supplementation can lower retinol reserves within the body, creating more of a deficiency. This is why it is so important to consume foods high in retinol, especially when taking high doses of vitamin D.

Vitamin A’s Role During Pregnancy

Essential for bone development, proper immune function and decreases miscarriage risk

VAD can cause growth restriction and increase risk for insulin resistance in adulthood.

VAD in the second trimester increases risk for Schizophrenia 3x

Limit beta carotene to 10,000IU daily and 2,500IU of retinyl palmitate

Top foods: Liver, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, squash, carrots