multivitamin worry

[twolittlepenguins]

Hi, I am 10 weeks pregnant and have been taking folic acid plus a generic multivitamin for the last 6 weeks which I mistakenly thought was a good idea. My husband just read the vitamin tub (which I should have done in the first place) and it says 'avoid if pregnant'.. after googling I see there are links to birth defects?? I have a proper pregnacare vit now but am so worried that I the crucial stages of baby development were exactly the time period that I was taking the multivitamin. I am now absolutely terrified and wondering if anyone has any knowledge of this? Thanks in advance.

It may be related to the vitamin a content - you should avoid large amounts when pregnant (it's also why you avoid things like liver) - but I'd be surprised if a normal multivitamin had given you a toxic dose of anything, the labels tend to err on the side of caution. You should talk to your GP if you're very worried.

You are advised to avoid supplementary Vitamin A when pregnant which is why all the advice available states to avoid a general purpose multivitamin but take a pregnancy multivitamin which is formulated to contain the recommended levels of folic acid and vitamin D but absolutely avoid the vitamin A.

Can you go back and read the content and see if that's indeed the case I.e. It contains Vitamin A? Usually most thigs have the standard line of consult doctor if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, but you say it actually says avoid when pregnant? I would suggest to not worry, as it's unlikely to be toxic, just schedule a telephone call with your gp to discuss the contents and they will be of more help than any of us here!

thank you sweetandfullofgrace i will try and speak to doc- the strange thing is i told the midwife at my booking in appt 2 days ago that i was taking a multivitamin and she didn't say not to! it says it's 100% RDA of vit A, I hope that as you say that could not be enough to cause any damage. I can't believe I didn't check. This isn't even my first pregnancy I just had no memory of multivits being bad :-(

thanks Focusfocus, i wasn't reminding myself of much advice yet as have had horrible morning sickness and am just getting able to look at words/ screens now- i thought I knew enough for this stage, but i basically misremembered the multivitamin being ok. i feel so stupid.

poor you, you've tried so hard to do the best thing. i suggest taking the bottle to the EPU (or doctor if you need a referral), but in the meantime, i am sure the chances of you having harmed the baby will be very low. look at all the people who had no idea they were pregnant and were still out partying, and their babies are all fine!

My mum's best friend are loads of liver when pregnant as she was anemic, it's full of vitamin a but this was before current advice. Her DS is in his 20s and fine.

Obviously this is completely anecdotal and I'm not suggesting people should purposely ignore the advice, but try not to worry. I highly doubt the multivitamin could do damage, they're just covering themselves legally.

thank you scarednoob that's what i am trying to tell myself, i can be a massive worrier but really hope you're right.

thanks GunShotResidue appreciate that.

so i just called and spoke to someone in the midwifery team who said "loads of things have 'don't take when pregnant' on the label, multivitamins are fine"! but did say it was best to just take the vit D/ folic acid they have issued. will def stay clear of the multis now but that has put my mind at ease a bit..

me again, if anyone's interested I've read a little research saying that studies found that vitamin A in very high doses (much more than the RDA) are dangerous, so what i've taken is nowhere near that. Hope this reassures anyone reading this in the same position.. though am I the only person this foolish I wonder?

i spent 90 minutes yesterday googling the chances of getting listeria and panicking because i'd eaten feta without checking if it was pasteurised or not... i think pregnancy just makes us worry a lot more than normal.

i am sure your doctor will put your mind at rest totally, but in the meantime, your little bean will be thrilled that you are trying so hard to be good!

oops didn't see message about mw above - all's well that ends well!