Is Vitamin A Safe During Pregnancy?
Both deficiencies and excesses of vitamin A can cause problems, such as severe birth defects. It has been clearly established that taking too much can cause several different birth defects. However, this is only true of preformed types of vitamin A, such as retinol; it is not true of the types of provitamin A, like beta-carotene, that the body uses to make retinol. Taking too much beta-carotene will not increase the level of retinol to toxic levels. This is why beta-carotene is considered safer than retinol for pregnant women.
