Healthcare Unit

Sections : Antioxidants, Dietary, Nutrient Intake, Supplements, Vitamin A, Vitamin Intake, WHO

This vitamin helps to control the growth and development of your baby by regulating genes needed to produce some pro­teins, including enzymes. It also has an important role as an antioxidant and may provide some protection against cerebral palsy. While it is essential, excess vitamin A is toxic during pregnancy at just three times the normal recommended daily intake for adults. Intakes of more than 10000 international units (IU) of Vitamin A supplements, for example, increase the risk of a developmental abnormality affecting the head, brain or spinal cord by a factor of five.

The most harmful time to take excess Vitamin A seems to be the first seven weeks of pregnancy. Some experts therefore advise against taking supplements containing preformed vitamin A (retinol) unless prescribed by a doctor to treat proven low levels. Others feel that supplements containing vitamin A may be safely used by pregnant women who follow standard advice to consume little or no liver or liver products, which have a naturally high Vitamin A content.

Always avoid cod liver oil supplements, liver and liver prod­ucts during pregnancy. The safest way to take vitamin A is as betacarotene—a yellow vegetable pigment that consists of two vitamin A molecules joined together. When vitamin A is needed, the betacarotene is broken down to top up supplies.

How much you need: The UK reference nutrient intake for Vitamin A is 700 meg (micrograms) per day. World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations are higher, at 800 meg vitamin A daily for adult women and 1000 meg per day during pregnancy. Most pregnant women in the western world already have Vitamin A intake that’s greater than this value, although deficiency is a common problem in underdeveloped countries.

Good dietary sources of Vitamin A for pregnant women include:

• meat ;
• eggs ;
• milk, butter, cheese and yoghurt ;
• oily fish ;
• margarine.

Good dietary sources of betacarotene include:

• dark green leafy vegetables e.g. spinach, broccoli and spring greens;
• yellow-orange vegetables and fruits e.g. carrots, sweet potatoes, cantaloupe melons, apricots, peaches, mangoes, red-yellow peppers and sweet corn.