Vitamin A during Pregnancy
Healthy Nutrients are essential during Pregnancy. Vitamin A is essential for your baby’s developing organs, eyes, and bones, as well as the circulatory, respiratory, and central nervous systems. Vitamin A is a tricky nutrient. Too much of it and you can harm your baby and it leads to birth defects, while too little can be a risk to you and your baby. Let's know how it helps the mom to be and the growing fetus.
Why do I need vitamin A?
Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin that plays an essential role in maintaining vision, body growth, immune function, and reproductive health.
Vitamin A comes from two sources:
- Retinoids (includes retinol) — comes from animal sources
- Carotenoids (includes beta-carotene) — comes from plants
Beta-carotene is a precursor to vitamin A. It turns into vitamin A according to the body’s needs.
Vitamin A deficiency
In mother
- Maternal anemia
- Increased maternal mortality
- Increased risk of preterm delivery
- Gestational diabetes
For baby
- Lower Hemoglobin concentration at birth
- Increased mortality rates during the first year of life
- Decreased immune response
- Growth restriction
- Risk of insulin resistance and glucose intolerance in adulthood
What happens if I take too much vitamin A?
High doses of vitamin A pose a risk to women at different stages of pregnancy. The increase in vitamin A during the first trimester of pregnancy is associated with miscarriage and malformations involving the central nervous and cardiac systems.
- Intake of more than 10,000 IU (3000 μg RE) per day increases the risk of abnormalities in the development of the nervous system.
- Intake of more than 25,000 IU per day increases the risk of malformations of the urinary tract
How much do I need?
- Recommended dietary allowance of vitamin A during pregnancy is 900 μg RE (5400 µg ß-carotene) per day.
- The total upper limit of the nutrient is 3000 μg RE per day or 10,000 IU per day.
Note :
- 1 µg Retinol Equivalent (RE) = 6 µg ß-carotene
- 1 International Unit (IU) retinol = 0.3 µg Retinol Equivalents
Dietary Sources to reach the goal
Good sources of retinol include:(RE per 100gm)
- *Lamb liver — 6690 μg
- *Butter — 960 μg
- Cow ghee — 600 μg
- Eggs — 420 μg
- Khoa -149 μg
- Cheese — 82 μg
- Milk — 53 μg
The main food sources of beta-carotene are:
Vegetable ( ß-carotene per 100 g)
- *Fenugreek — 9245 µg
- Carrots — 5423 µg
- Sweet potatoes — 5376 µg
- Parsley — 2710 µg
- Mustard leaves — 2619 µg
- Spinach — 2605 µg
- Tomata -1513 µg
- Onion — 700 µg
- Field beans — 556 µg
- French beans — 413 µg
- Capsicum — 328 µg
- Red bell peppers — 246 µg
- Yellow bell peppers — 166 µg
Fruit (ß-carotene per 100 g)
- Dates — 2700 µg
- Apricots — 1806 µg
- Mango — 1264 µg
Note : * These are very high sources and you must be careful not to use it more than the RDA.
Quick meal hacks
- Boiled sweet potato chaat can be a tasty snacking option.
- You can make a mango milkshake or a smoothie for a fulfilling breakfast.
- Make dates and nuts ladoo for your sugar cravings.
- Have a bowl of colorful salad using carrot, bell peppers, beans, tomato, onion, cucumber, and the other vegetables of your choice.
- You can make different types of salad dressing to make it fun. For a creamy salad, you can add some cheese, mayonnaise, and soy sauce.
Getting the right amount of vitamin A is an act of balance. Too much or too little, can harm your developing baby. So make sure you have a balanced diet. Eat healthy, stay healthy, and have a happy pregnancy.
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