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Vitamin A and pregnancy
Vitamin A is very important for your baby, especially during the first 8 weeks of pregnancy. It is important for the development of your baby’s immune system and fat metabolism, as well as the growth of your baby’s organs, bones, and respiratory, circulatory and central nervous systems. After birth, vitamin A is essential for you, the mother, as it helps your body to repair any torn tissue.
Vitamin A is a fat soluble vitamin. There are many forms of the vitamin, which are collectively known as retinoids. Vitamin A is important for everyone’s vision, bone growth, reproduction, immune system and the development of the cells of many organs.
Like vitamin E, most of the vitamin A in your body is stored in your liver and it is difficult to develop a deficiency. For adults it takes approximately 2 years of zero vitamin A intake before the body runs out of the naturally stored vitamin. A vitamin A deficiency in developed countries is rare such as the U.K., but night blindness and a weakened immune system can indicate a possible deficiency.
Sources of Vitamin A:
- milk
- eggs
- cheese
- livers
- kidneys
How much vitamin A do I need?
The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for females is 700ug (micrograms) of vitamin A per day, for pregnant women the RDA is 770ug (micrograms) of vitamin A per day and for breastfeeding women the RDA is 1300ug (micrograms) of vitamin A per day.
More about vitamins during pregnancy.
Tags: RDA, tissue repair, trimester 1, vitamin deficiencies, Vitamin E, vitamins, week 8, Your Baby