Vitamins in Pregnancy: Which Matter, Official Advice and What to Avoid in Excess
Which vitamins official bodies single out in pregnancy, what the trials show, and which vitamins carry a warning at high amounts, with the source and country for each figure.
Content last updated . This page has not been medically reviewed.
Start here
Tell your midwife, doctor or pharmacist about every vitamin, supplement and medicine you take, and do not stop a prescribed medicine on your own. If you took a product containing vitamin A (retinol) or fish liver oil after you knew you were pregnant, contact your care team rather than guessing. The NHS says too much vitamin A can harm a baby's development. [1] If a child swallowed your vitamins, call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222 (US), or 911 if the child has collapsed or cannot be woken. [2]Multivitamins and prenatal products
A Cochrane review of 20 trials (141,849 women), nearly all in low- and middle-income countries, compared multiple-micronutrient supplements (with iron and folic acid) with iron with or without folic acid. It found fewer low-birthweight babies (high-quality evidence), but little effect on deaths. One UK trial against placebo found little effect on preterm birth or birthweight but fewer cases of maternal anemia. [21] These results come mostly from settings where diets are poorer, so they may not transfer to well-nourished people. Product choice and the iron content (a mineral, and dangerous to children) are covered in prenatal and postnatal vitamins.Who needs an individual plan
- People with a prior neural tube defect pregnancy, diabetes, epilepsy or HIV medicines (higher folic acid is prescribed, not self-chosen). [1]
- People who have had bariatric surgery: see vitamins after bariatric surgery.
- Vegans and vegetarians: see B12 for vegetarians and vegans.
- People with kidney disease, hyperparathyroidism or high blood calcium should tell their doctor before taking vitamin D, according to MedlinePlus. [2]
- Anyone on prescribed medicine: check medication interactions and ask a pharmacist. For safety beyond vitamins see pregnancy and breastfeeding.
Product quality matters too: read quality testing and certifications.
What this page cannot tell you
Official upper limits for pregnancy from the US National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements could not be read (the site blocked our download), so none are quoted. The Health Canada pregnancy page read did not mention vitamin A. Proper evidence not found: trials showing that any vitamin other than folic acid reduces a specific birth defect; sources searched were Cochrane, PubMed, the NHS and MedlinePlus.Frequently asked questions
Which vitamins does the NHS say to take in pregnancy?
Folic acid (400 mcg a day until week 12) and vitamin D (10 mcg a day from October to March, or all year for some people). [1]
Is vitamin A safe in pregnancy?
The NHS says do not take supplements with vitamin A (retinol) or cod liver oil, and avoid liver. [1] Ask your care team about any product that lists vitamin A.
Can I take more folic acid than the standard amount?
Higher doses are prescribed for certain risks, such as a prior neural tube defect pregnancy. [1] MedlinePlus advises against more than 1,000 mcg of folic acid otherwise, because it can mask B12 deficiency. [20]
Do prenatal vitamins improve the baby's outcomes?
Cochrane trials, mostly in low- and middle-income countries, found fewer low-birthweight babies with multiple-micronutrient products. [21] Evidence for well-nourished people is less clear.
Are high-dose vitamin C or E safer because they are "natural"?
No source read says so. MedlinePlus advises against large vitamin C doses in pregnancy, and notes possible birth defect concerns with high vitamin E that need more research. [16][17]
More details: evidence, limits and cautions
The details behind this page: cautions, limits of the evidence and where sources disagree. Open any note to read it.
How to read the evidence labels
Labels used on this page: established nutritional role, evidence of harm at high amounts, mixed, insufficient evidence, and "Proper evidence not found". Figures are official published levels for a stated group and country, not personal advice. Units: mcg is micrograms, and the NHS gives 1 mcg of vitamin D as 40 IU. [3]
The two vitamins most bodies single out
Folic acid (vitamin B9). The NHS recommends 400 mcg of folic acid daily from trying to conceive (ideally 3 months before) until the end of week 12. A higher 5 mg dose, prescribed by a GP, is advised for higher-risk groups such as people with diabetes, a family or personal history of neural tube defects, sickle cell anemia or thalassemia, or who take medicine for epilepsy or HIV. [1] The US Preventive Services Task Force recommends 0.4 to 0.8 mg (400 to 800 mcg) daily for anyone planning or able to become pregnant, starting at least a month before conception and continuing through the first 2 to 3 months. [4] Health Canada says to take a multivitamin with 0.4 mg of folic acid every day if you are pregnant or could become pregnant. [5] Evidence label: established. A Cochrane review of five trials (7,391 women) found folic acid, alone or with other nutrients, cut neural tube defects (risk ratio 0.31, high-quality evidence), with no clear effect on other birth defects. [6] For forms see folic acid vs methylfolate, and for the full story folic acid and neural tube defects.Vitamin D. The NHS advises 10 mcg (400 IU) daily from early October to late March, and all year for people who cover most of their skin, spend a lot of time indoors, and says to consider it all year for people with black or brown skin. It says not to take more than 100 mcg a day. [1] Health Canada's pregnancy page advises a supplement with 400 IU (10 mcg). [5] MedlinePlus lists 600 IU (15 mcg) as the US reference intake for pregnancy and breastfeeding. [7] These figures differ because bodies set them differently. Evidence label for trials: insufficient. The 2024 Cochrane update, after removing studies it judged untrustworthy, found very uncertain effects on pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes and preterm birth, and a possible reduction in severe postpartum hemorrhage from one study (low certainty). [8]
How to read this page
Reference intakes and cautions by vitamin
| Vitamin | Reference for pregnancy | Caution at high amounts or note |
|---|---|---|
| A | 770 mcg a day for ages 19 to 50 [9] | Avoid retinol supplements, fish liver oil and liver (NHS, UK) [10]. EFSA's upper limit for preformed vitamin A is 3,000 mcg RE a day in adults, pregnancy and lactation [11]. Large doses in pregnancy can cause birth defects [9]. Evidence of harm: in a US cohort of 22,748 pregnancies, babies of women taking over 10,000 IU a day from supplements had more cranial neural crest defects, with an apparent threshold near that level [12] |
| B6 | 1.9 mg a day [13] | EFSA upper limit 12 mg a day (adults, pregnancy) [11]; NHS says no more than 10 mg a day in supplements unless a doctor advises [14]. Nausea: see B6 for nausea |
| B12 | 2.6 mcg a day [15] | Not found in plant foods unless fortified, so vegans may not get enough (NHS) [14] |
| C | 85 mg a day for adults, 80 mg for teens [16] | MedlinePlus says large doses are not recommended in pregnancy and can lead to a shortage of vitamin C in the baby after delivery [16] |
| E | 15 mg a day [17] | High levels might raise birth defect risk, which MedlinePlus says needs more research [17] |
| K | 90 mcg a day (Adequate Intake; 75 mcg for ages 14 to 18) [18] | The NHS says a varied, balanced diet should supply the vitamin K you need [19]; see vitamin K |
| Folate | 600 mcg a day, or 1,000 mcg for twins (MedlinePlus) [20] | EFSA upper limit 1,000 mcg a day of added folic acid and similar forms [11]. MedlinePlus says avoid more than 1,000 mcg of folic acid except with a prior neural tube defect pregnancy, since high amounts can mask B12 deficiency [20] |
Choline is not a vitamin; its pregnancy figure could not be verified from a source read for this page, so see choline in pregnancy. Iron, calcium and iodine are minerals with their own pages, for example iron.
References
- NHS (UK), Pregnancy vitamins and supplements, Keeping well in pregnancy (media last reviewed 2 February 2026). Read 2026-10-23.
- MedlinePlus, Cholecalciferol (Vitamin D3) drug information. Read 2026-10-23.
- NHS (UK), Vitamin D, page last reviewed 3 August 2020 (as read). Read 2026-10-23.
- US Preventive Services Task Force, Folic Acid Supplementation to Prevent Neural Tube Defects: Preventive Medication. Read 2026-10-23.
- Health Canada, Healthy eating when pregnant and breastfeeding (page dated 2026-04-23). Read 2026-10-23 (through the web-fetch summary tool).
- De-Regil LM et al. Effects and safety of periconceptional oral folate supplementation for preventing birth defects. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2015 (PMID 26662928). Read 2026-10-23.
- MedlinePlus, Vitamin D (encyclopedia). Read 2026-10-23.
- Vitamin D supplementation for women during pregnancy. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2024;7:CD008873 (PMID 39077939). Read 2026-10-23.
- MedlinePlus, Vitamin A (encyclopedia). Read 2026-10-23.
- NHS Best Start in Life (UK), Vitamins and supplements in pregnancy (page undated as read). Read 2026-10-23.
- EFSA, Overview on Tolerable Upper Intake Levels as derived by the Scientific Committee on Food and the EFSA NDA Panel (summary report, May 2024). Read 2026-10-23; table cell order as extracted from the PDF.
- Rothman KJ et al. Teratogenicity of high vitamin A intake. N Engl J Med 1995;333:1369-73 (PMID 7477116). Read 2026-10-23.
- MedlinePlus, Vitamin B6 (encyclopedia). Read 2026-10-23.
- NHS (UK), B vitamins and folic acid, page last reviewed 3 August 2020. Read 2026-10-23.
- MedlinePlus, Vitamin B12 (encyclopedia). Read 2026-10-23.
- MedlinePlus, Vitamin C (encyclopedia). Read 2026-10-23.
- MedlinePlus, Vitamin E (encyclopedia). Read 2026-10-23.
- MedlinePlus, Vitamin K (encyclopedia). Read 2026-10-23.
- NHS (UK), Vitamin K, page last reviewed 3 August 2020. Read 2026-10-23.
- MedlinePlus, Folate (encyclopedia). Read 2026-10-23.
- Keats EC et al. Multiple-micronutrient supplementation for women during pregnancy. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2019 (PMID 30873598). Read 2026-10-23.