Vitamin A in your prenatal

Hi ladies,

Can you pls tell me how much Vitamin A is your prenatals? I take the Target brand Up & Up and it says 4000 IU in Beta Carotene with 800 mcg of Folic Acid. The NP at my dr's office prescribed Select OB plus DHA and it has 1700 in the form of Acetate and Beta Carotene and 1mg for Folic Acid.

She didn't push for Select OB DHA but I'm wondering if one is better than the other. The Vitamin A factor is making me very curious.

Help! TIA

Re: Vitamin A in your prenatal

I take the Target Up & Up so you have my answer already lol

Re: Vitamin A in your prenatal

lol.. thanks Ang. Your dr. was ok with it? I took my bottle to the first visit and she gave me the nod plus the prescription I'm wondering if this warrants a phone call to their office..

Re: Vitamin A in your prenatal

she never asked which ones i was taking... she gave me a ton of sample ones tho... and only 2 of them have Vitamin A listed on it... and one has 2700iu (Vitafol-OB+DHA) and one has 1700iu (Select-OB+DHA)

ETA: I reread your first post... why would you think the one with less folic acid and less Vitamin A would be better?

Message edited 3/14/2011 9:43:04 PM.

Re: Vitamin A in your prenatal

its not less folic acid.. target does have 800 mcg, but the Vitamin A content is what was a bit concerning.. but I just read that Vitamin A in Beta Carotene form is best since it is plant based. I'm just trying to figure out if 4000 IU of Vitamin A in Beta Carotene is ok or not.

Acetate and Palmitate are two other forms of Vitamin A as well.

Re: Vitamin A in your prenatal

im taking prenate essential and mine has NO vitamin A!

ETA: i just googled and found this:

Women in their reproductive years should be informed that the excessive use of vitamin A shortly before and during pregnancy could be harmful to their babies. The National Research Council's recommended dietary allowance for vitamin A during pregnancy is 1,000 retinol equivalents (RE)/day, which is equivalent to 3,300 IU as retinol or 5,000 IU of vitamin A obtained from the typical American diet as a combination of retinol and carotenoids, e.g., beta-carotene. An average balanced diet contains approximately 7,000-8,000 IU of vitamin A derived from different sources. Therefore, women who are at risk for becoming pregnant should consider their dietary intake of vitamin A before taking supplements. The USRDA (recommended daily allowance) established by the Food and Drug Administration is 8,000 IU/day. Supplementation of 8,000 IU vitamin A (as retinol/retinyl esters) per day should be considered the recommended maximum prior to or during pregnancy until further evaluations can be performed in the human population. It is important to determine the type of vitamin A consumed, since beta-carotene has not been associated with vitamin A toxicity in animals or man.

Message edited 3/14/2011 9:51:47 PM.

Re: Vitamin A in your prenatal

That's what I was reading too.. you need Vitamin A and how much was too much.. I was surprised when I saw the Acetate in the prescription. I was just comparing the two brands..

Re: Vitamin A in your prenatal

it seems like its preferable to get vitamin a from your diet instead of supplements while pregnant... maybe your dr can prescribe prenate essential for you (its not terribly expensive)

Re: Vitamin A in your prenatal

from vegetables, you get it in Beta Carotene form, which is the same as the Target brand. I'm going to call tomorrow.. they'll think I'm nuts but I need some peace on this matter.

Re: Vitamin A in your prenatal

Target wouldn't put it in their prenatals if it was going to be harmful to pregnant women or babies.

I take Target prenatal, and both doctors that I have gone to, have said that was perfect.

Re: Vitamin A in your prenatal

Re: Vitamin A in your prenatal

Re: Vitamin A in your prenatal

I take the CVS brand, the bottle is at home so I can't tell you everything, all I know is it has 800mg of Folic Acid.

I'm almost done with the bottle, I just bought cuz it was on sale. I'm sure my gyno is gonna make me switch.

Re: Vitamin A in your prenatal

Posted by buttercup

Posted by AngnShaun

Posted by mrsyoungmommy

Target wouldn't put it in their prenatals if it was going to be harmful to pregnant women or babies.

I take Target prenatal, and both doctors that I have gone to, have said that was perfect.

thats definitely what i was thinking... why would it be in it if it was harmful

because I love to drive myself nuts..
I'm sticking with my Target brand.. I see my dr. again in two weeks and I'll ask again.

Re: Vitamin A in your prenatal

not sure about the amount but I know it's 50% of the daily recommendation