Worried as I've been taking cod liver oil

[lovepositivity]

I'm so worried...
I'm 5 weeks pregnant tomorrow and had read everywhere how omega 3 oils are so important for brain development.
I assumed cod liver oil was the same and have been taking that bit just realised that there's high levels of vitamin A in it that is linked with birth defects.
I will of course stop taking these immediately but so worried I've already caused harm. I feel stupid as I've been so careful about everything else.
Has anyone else done similar but been ok?

Oh no! Very silly mistake to make and as you say can potentially lead to birth defects. How much vitamin A have you been taking in your normal diet? As that will factor into the likelihood of whether or not you've caused harm. Have you been taking folic acid?

How much vitamin A is in your supplement? You'd have to take quite a high dose to cause problems: "When the dose of preformed vitamin A is above 10,000 IU per day, there may be a potential risk of teratogenicity."
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6470929/

Just looking at a supplement from Holland and Barrett, this one contains about a quarter of that:
www.hollandandbarrett.com/shop/product/holland-barrett-cod-liver-oil-1000mg-softgel-capsules-60019016?skuid=019018

So assuming yours is similar I doubt you've taken enough to cause problems.

@toadabode @Utini False alarm, got my husband to check the box and they are fish oil omega 3 so that's ok? I'm also taking my pregnancy multivitamin x

@Utini thanks for looking into it for me x

I would stick to just taking a pregnancy supplement.

Rather just take a supplement that is specially formulated for use in pregnancy, as your requirements change at this time. Do not take additional supplements as you could overdose on some vitamins, which can be danger. There are pregnancy supplements that include fish oil and Omega 3.

Having said that, I was taking cod liver oil for a few weeks before I realised that I was pregnant with my DD. She is perfect, so don't worry too much about the fish oil you've already taken but don't take any more unless it's definitely made for use in pregnancy!

You'll be fine if it's just fish oil / omega 3 without any additional vitamin A. Check your dose maybe, but it seems that the optimum is fairly high.

For example to reduce the risk of premature birth: "Our review found the optimum dose was a daily supplement containing between 500 and 1000 milligrams (mg) of long-chain omega-3 fats (containing at least 500mg of DHA)"
www.cochrane.org/news/new-research-finds-omega-3-fatty-acids-reduce-risk-premature-birth

There seem to be quite a lot of benefits and I've not seen any downsides, so I doubt you have anything to worry about even if it's not one specifically sold for pregnancy.