Hello I am pregnant for about 5 weeks and 2 days. Since I found out about this, I started taking one-a-day prenatal vitamins. These tablets have 4000IU of Vitamin A, 50% in the form of Beta Carotene. My question has to do with my vitamin A intake. I eat a lot of vegetables, lots of leafy greens and spinach, and fruits, mostly grapes and apples. These are also rich in Vitamin A, in Beta Carotene form. Does this constitute a potential threat to the health of the developing embryo? I am not taking any other preformed Vitamin A other than these tablets-- except for the little amount in the fortified milk, perhaps. Could you please guide me about the limits of Vitamin A intake in the form of Beta Carotene? Should I cut back on spinach and other fruits and veggies? Thank you!
Hi,vitamin A is a type of vitamin which gets stored in liver over time and person taking lots of vegetables and fruits are not deficient of it. In pregnancy excess vitamin A, more than 10,000 IU per day can cause defects in the baby and liver toxicity in the mother. Since you are having adequate intake of in your diet, I would advise you to change your prenatal vitamin to one which does not have vitamin A. Regarding beta-carotene 12 micro grams of beta-carotene makes approx. 3 IU of vitamin A. Just take folic acid 400 micrograms till 12 weeks. Hope this helps. Regards.