Help help help so frightened!! Have poisoned my baby? 😢😢

[zeena83]

Hi everyone,

I have been taking the Solgar D3 softgels throughout my pregnancy, am now 10 weeks. I am an idiot and am now terrified - I looked at the label and saw that the D3 is derived from cholecalciferol and FISH LIVER OIL!!! 😩😩 does this mean it contains vitamin A and have I caused my baby to have birth defects??? It does not state that it contains A, surely it would have to if it was more than trace amounts? Oh my god, I am so upset!!!

Please help!

Zeena

P.S. yes I do have severe anxiety 😔😔😔 and this is my first pregnancy

I think you are fine. If you are worried you can always take the bottle to your chemist/pharmacy and ask them for professional opinion to ease your anxiety.

You do need some vitamin A in your diet for baby’s health, birth defects can happen from having too little. But then too, if you take mega-doses of vitamin A that is also linked to birth defects.

The D3 supplement should say if it also has any vitamin A in it, and if so how much. So I think it likely doesn’t, and even if it did, it wouldn’t be at the mega-dose to adversely affect your baby. Surely they’d have to disclose all the vitamins present in any supplement?

There is a link to contact them via email on here so you can ask them, hopefully they can put your mind at rest
solgar.co.uk/pages/contact-us

Thank you so much for replying! Yes I assumed that they would need to disclose if it had any substantial amount of A but I am also such an anxious person, am not dealing too well with all of this 😢 Problem is that I also take a prenatal which contains A but I also read that it is only megadoses that cause defects? I guess if the D3 does have any it is probably trace, the label definitely does not mention A...

So stressed out! Have ordered a different one now

I suspect the only reason it is mentioned that it is derived from fish liver oil is for allergy purposes.

Oh yes, I didn’t think of that...

I just don’t see how it could contain any decent amount of something but not disclose it

I was asked to take fish oil in my pregnancy by my midwife?

But this is D3 derived from fish liver oil... 😔

I took fish oil too in pregnancy, it's important for the developing brain. You have to take mega amounts to overdose. I know vitamin D is detailed on the NHS site and it's a huge amount to overdose. I expect vitamin A will be along similar lines.

I'm taking the Zita West DHA (concentrated cod liver oil) in pregnancy also - it says pregnancy safe and comes with my first trimester vitamins.

As a PP said, I'd call the customer helpline for Solgar, and also call your midwife to put your mind at rest.

My understanding (could be very wrong) was that the synthetic vitamin A added to fish oils are more of a problem. And that a natural fish oil less so.

I think too it was only megadoses of synthetic vitamin A that was linked to birth defects? I am sure I read something saying naturak vitamin A from food sources (which would include fish liver oil) was alright.

Thank you so much for replies so far. The label says:

Bulking Agent: safflower oil, Softgel Capsule Shell: (gelatin (from bovine), vegetable glycerin (from palm kernel oil and coconut oil)), Vitamin D3 (from fish liver oil and cholecalciferol).
Each softgel provides: Vitamin D3 (1000 IU, from fish liver oil and cholecalciferol)

No mention of vitamin A at all but I saw the fish liver oil bit and have been melting down ever since 😫

Once you sort out the vitamin issue - you need to speak to your mw or gp about your anxiety.

I know, this is really awful 😔

In the nicest of possible ways, this is a massive over reaction to what you clearly acknowledge yourself is a non-issue. It doesn’t even mention vitamin A and you are going into a spiral of negative thinking. I agree that the biggest issue here is your anxiety levels.

Definitely agree, I have pretty bad anxiety at the best of times but pregnancy is just setting me off every few days about one thing or another. I cannot quit google

Massive over reaction and your baby will suffer if you don't get in control of your anxiety. Your child needs to be able to develop properly and worrying about simple stuff like that will affect them

The original research (according to my v. senior midwife friend) regarding the intake of high levels of vitamin A showed that it is very high levels you need to avoid. Such as overdosing on supplements and/or eating liver at practically every meal throughout your entire pregnancy.

In their wisdom, they decided to tell pregnant women to avoid liver and other things containing vitamin A to be on the safe side. They didn't want to specify a particular amount because it would be too open to interpretation.

I feel such a fool 😔 thank you all so much for your patience and kindness. I will definitely try to deal with the anxiety. I have wasted an entire day today, hours that I will never get back, it is terribly frustrating.

Z

@Eviethyme

Massive over reaction and your baby will suffer if you don't get in control of your anxiety. Your child needs to be able to develop properly and worrying about simple stuff like that will affect them

Do you think that comment helped her anxiety?

Having anxiety is not going to stop her baby from developing properly. For goodness sake! Think before posting such rubbish.

Please don't worry. I had similar concerns, because I made a mistake with my vitamin dosage, due to miscommunication with my doctor. My uncle (who is an obgyn) told me that you'd need ten times the dosage of vitamin A to cause harm. All subsequent scans and check-ups have been perfectly fine. If it helps, ask your doctor to specify which D3 supplement to take. And try to keep in mind that we are all on edge right now, so it's easy to blow small things out of proportion.

You aren't a fool at all. And you haven't poisoned your baby. You will be a lovely mum who only wants the best for her child.

It's quite helpful that this has happened really as it's going to make it easy for you to discuss with your midwife, you can explain how your anxiety has dominated your thinking today. That will really help with your future care.

So much kindness here on Mumsnet, it’s really made me quite emotional! I can’t thank you all enough really. What a terrible day and, yes, definitely one to mention to my MW.

❤️❤️❤️

You're not a fool, there's so much conflicting advice, and it's a time of worry! I'm pretty anxious and worried about silly things - even Googled whether I can use my mouthwash today! But then there are even things in skincare you can't use (that I wouldn't have thought of)
It's always worth checking when there are things you aren't sure about / are worried about I think. Hopefully your mind is more at rest.

Hi OP, I struggle with anxiety too so please don't feel too guilty, our minds are our biggest enemies. It is my first pregnancy too and I spend the forst trimester rapidly googling anything i ate or drank and being OTT on the guidance l. What I am trying to say is you need to do what makes your comfortable and your anxiety managable!
There is no good saying "it will harm your baby if you don't get it under control" as of course if we could control it, we would! The main thing here is you talk to your support network and your midwife so they are aware and you take each day as it comes. I am now over half way and my anxiety has settled as every scan and movement I feel reassures me so it does get better :)

You worry because you care, and this is a place for support with that. However, any medical questions definitely ask your doctor or midwife as they are most qualified and you will NEVER be wasting their time.

hope you feel better this eve xx