From: YTDP43A@prodigy.com (MS GAIL M HART) Subject: vitamin A in pregnancy
RE <<< too much Vitamin A in pregnancy causing toxicity.<<<
It don't know the amount which would cause a toxic reaction, but large doses of vitamin A have been associated with cranial deformities; and for many years women were advised to be cautious about taking mega-dose vitamins in pregnancy.
In October the Associated Press reported on a study showing that
relatively small amounts of supplemental vit A may cause problems (I
have a copy of the release -- if anyone wishes the entire post, let me
know -- and I 'll send it off to you
The gist of the study (by researchers at Boston University ; published
in the New England Journal of Medicine: Dr. Kenneth J. Rothman, the
principal author) says that "surprisingly low doses of vitamin A -- as
little as the amount contained in two or three multivitamin pills --
may increase the risk of birth defects when taken early in pregnancy".
Their article states that consuming an excess of 10,000
international units of vitamin A each day may be dangerous to the
developing fetus.
Prenatal and daily vitamines usually contain 5,000 units or less,
but some multivitamin brands, (especially those sold in health food
stores), can have much larger amounts, and vitamin A capsules may
contain as much as 25,000 units.
In the Boston study --- the researcher found that """""one of every
57 babies born to women who take more than 10,000 units of vitamin A
will have a birth defect as a result. The problems involved
malformations of the face, head, heart and nervous system". -"""""
"""""-Women who took vitamin pills with more than 10,000 international
units of vitamin A were five times as likely as those who took less
than 5,000 units to have a birth defect linked to vitamin use.
--The increased risk was greatest when women took vitamin A during
their first seven weeks of pregnancy -- a period when women often are
not even certain they are pregnant.
--Defects linked with vitamin A included cleft lips and palates,
serious heart problems and fluid on the brain. """""
Fortunately women rarely consume
excessive amounts of vitamin A. The Boston study covered 23,000
pregnancies, and found less 2 percent of the women took more than 10,
000 international units of vitamin A daily from supplements..and only
five or six babies were found which the researchers thought were
harmed by vitamin A.
The authors advise women to check their multivitamin bottles to be
certain their vitamin A levels do not exceed 5,000 international units,
(this is the current U.S. RDA. Women should also not take additional
vitamin A pills and might be advised to be watchful of large doses of
liver (very high in vitamin A) and even some packaged foods -- a bowl
of some types of ready to eat cereal can contain 5,000 units. A woman
may unknowingly accumulate a large dose from several different
sources.. (It' s not unusual for women to take several different
supplements -- check out the vitamin A totals!).
The researches say that carotene -- the vegetable form of vitamin A -
- appears to be completely safe and can be substituted for straight
vitamin A -- also called "retinol".
This research was based on 22,748 births in the mid-1980s.Some
vitamin manufacturers have reduced the level of retinol vitamin A in
multivitamins, substituting beta carotene.
The Council for Responsible Nutrition, a vitamin makers group,
currently (October) recommends that vitamin pills contain no more than
10,000 units of vitamin A.