1
113

Is Vitamin A Good For Pregnancy?

Vitamin A is required and useful for the fetal development and your health, but it may prove to be a real danger during pregnancy.

Is Vitamin A Good For Pregnancy

When it`s improperly administered and is found to be in excess in the body, vitamin A increases the risk of occurrence of some serious congenital abnormalities in the fetus, which puts the life of the baby in danger after birth.

Table of Contents

Role of Vitamin A in Pregnancy

Vitamin A, also known under the name of retinol, is especially essential for pregnant women because it helps in the postpartum repair of tissues and skin, as well as to fight against infections and enhance vision in diffuse light.

Vitamin A is lipo-soluble and is stored in the liver, during pregnancy being essential for the embryonic development (heart, eyes, bones, lungs, kidneys and circulatory, respiratory and central nervous systems), but in fat metabolism as well.

How Much Vitamin a Should I Take?

  • For pregnant women over 19 years: 770 mcg (2565 UI) per day.
  • Women of 18 years or younger: 70 mcg (2500 UI) per day.
  • Breastfeeding women over 19 years 1.300 mcg (4330 UI) per day.
  • Breastfeeding women under 18 years 1.200 mcg (4000 UI) per day.

A generally viable rule is that you shouldn`t follow these amounts on a daily basis, rather opting mostly for maintaining a constant weekly average.

It`s Necessary to Take Vitamin A Supplements?

In general, there aren`t any reasons to do this, because most people get enough vitamin A from their usual diet. Most prenatal vitamins contain vitamin A anyway. Check the labels of the foods you consume to ensure they don`t contain a higher amount then the one recommended.

Also, it`s safer if your vitamin supplements contain vitamin A at least partially, under the form of beta-carotene than preformed vitamin A, about which it`s known to cause congenital defects when it`s taken in too high doses right before conceiving or during pregnancy.

Foods that Contain Vitamin A

The most suitable sources are eggs (properly cooked) and dairy products, melon, oranges, apricots, mango, green leafy and yellow vegetables (pumpkin, carrots, peppers). Here are a few food sources along with their content of vitamin A:

  • 1 sweet potato medium cooking: 1,096 mcg (21,909 IU).
  • 1 large egg, omelette: 87 mcg (321 IU).
  • 1 piece of pumpkin pie: 596 mcg (4,567 IU).
  • ½ cup boiled spinach: 573 mcg (11,458 IU).
  • 1 raw medium carrot: 509 mcg (10,191 IU).
  • ½ cup of carrot pieces 665 mcg (13,286 IU.
  • 1 cup of unfortified milk: 338 mcg (1,131 IU).
  • 1 cup spinach raw: 141 mcg (2,813 IU).
  • 1 cup of melon: 270 mcg (5.411 IU.
  • 1 cup cooked ice cream peas: 84 mcg RAE (1,680 IU).

Cutting, squeezing, cooking and grating process may cause provitamin A to be absorbed more easily by the organism and it may seem that if a small amount of fat (1 teaspoon) is eaten along with it, it becomes even easier to assimilate.

Possible Complications

First of all, vitamin A in excess increases the risk of occurrence of birth defects. In turn, too little vitamin A has shown delays of development, premature birth, skin conditions and ocular damage. Additionally, there`re studies which have associated the deficiency of this vitamin with a high risk of HIV-1 transmission from the mother to child. The signs of vitamin A deficiency include poor vision at night and weakened immunity or even xerophthalmia.

Vitamin A during Pregnancy in Excess

Foods that shouldn`t be consumed in excess during pregnancy are: liver, liver pate and liver sausages, which have high levels of this vitamin (a portion of beef liver might include up to 12 times the recommended daily dose). Also, if you aren`t careful, you may confront yourself with an excess regarding the consumption of prenatal multivitamin supplements as well. They sometimes present the preformed version of vitamin A (not carotenoid). Thus, get in touch with your doctor before choosing to take them. In principle, the maximum acceptable dose is 8.000 – 10.000 IU when it comes to supplements, but his particular level can easily be reached if you eat healthy foods, like eggs, vegetables along with fortified cereals or meat. Additionally, it was discovered that the anti-acne drug isotretinoin (also known as Accutane), and other medications that contain retinol (which include Retin-A or tretinoin) can be damaging for treatment of skin conditions. – Visit this page!

Consequences of Vitamin A Deficiency

Vitamin A deficiency is very rare in well developed countries, as it`s quite simple to get this vitamin from dairy, vegetables, fruits, meat or eggs, as well as from food supplements that contain vitamins. The consequences are the weakening of the immune system and diminished vision at night. As already mentioned, people who have deficiency with this vitamin might also cause an illness known as xerophthalmia, which may lead to thickening of the cornea.

Image courtesy of pregnancydietplanhq.com

Show Comments

68 Comments

  1. Nqdmji June 26, 2022
  2. incuchrib August 21, 2022
  3. EaseraKap October 30, 2022
  4. driency November 6, 2022
  5. Edittef November 12, 2022
  6. roarrop November 14, 2022
  7. Bifaple November 15, 2022
  8. Asseptors November 15, 2022
  9. deelvinia November 19, 2022
  10. Sbbduz November 27, 2022
  11. Edgetdype December 8, 2022
  12. Adopity December 10, 2022
  13. blivybiab December 11, 2022
  14. Bonsirl December 12, 2022
  15. Equillalk December 14, 2022
  16. ErrodaY January 24, 2023
  17. gakeldera January 25, 2023
  18. Fafeseesk January 26, 2023
  19. Saftitams January 28, 2023
  20. Engague January 28, 2023
  21. ETHIPMENE January 31, 2023
  22. jepledo January 31, 2023
  23. amourne February 3, 2023
  24. Atewnz February 7, 2023
  25. zoritoler imol February 10, 2023
  26. Pagiahhom February 10, 2023
  27. Dangext February 10, 2023
  28. fefevenly February 21, 2023
  29. nercisa March 1, 2023
  30. itemync March 3, 2023
  31. Emikify March 3, 2023
  32. Ethigue April 29, 2023
  33. Iodindila May 14, 2023
  34. embarry May 31, 2023
  35. ReTerTwfcwg June 8, 2023
  36. ReTerTwzega June 9, 2023
  37. ReTerTwhkyd June 10, 2023
  38. ReTerTwtrhv June 10, 2023
  39. ReTerTwpesb June 11, 2023
  40. ReTerTwtxmk June 12, 2023
  41. ReTerTwzcnk June 12, 2023
  42. ReTerTwzbao June 13, 2023
  43. ReTerTwjexd June 14, 2023
  44. ReTerTwmbud June 14, 2023
  45. ReTerTwegia June 15, 2023
  46. ReTerTwqsry June 16, 2023
  47. ReTerTwjrag June 16, 2023
  48. DeTerTwntkb July 2, 2023
  49. DeTerTwuvrj July 3, 2023
  50. bezogoroda.ru July 3, 2023
  51. DeTerTwgmfx July 5, 2023
  52. bezogoroda.ru July 5, 2023
  53. DeTerTwczpq July 6, 2023
  54. DeTerTwyhcc July 9, 2023
  55. DeTerTwmgqy July 10, 2023
  56. fHnMdEl July 11, 2023
  57. DeTerTwvzvx July 12, 2023
  58. DeTerTwfyuy July 14, 2023
  59. DeTerTwekfj July 15, 2023
  60. Vejoift July 25, 2023
  61. NdehBZ July 31, 2023
  62. YYIUqYFXB August 14, 2023
  63. 먹튀검증 September 16, 2023
  64. BVZ_Moskva_P October 28, 2023
  65. N-Dom_Kek December 21, 2023
  66. N-Dom_Kek December 28, 2023
  67. ppu-prof_Oa January 10, 2024
  68. JseraldBeery February 27, 2024

Leave a Reply to roarrop Cancel reply