Vitamin A and Pregnancy: A Narrative Review

• Published in: Nutrients 2019-03, Vol.11 (3), p.681
• Main Authors: Bastos Maia, Sabina, Rolland Souza, Alex Sandro, Costa Caminha, Maria de Fátima, Lins da Silva, Suzana, Callou Cruz, Rachel de Sá Barreto Luna, Carvalho Dos Santos, Camila, Batista Filho, Malaquias
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Nutritional status; pregnancy; Review; Vitamin A; vitamin A deficiency
• ISSN: 2072-6643; 2072-6643
• DOI: 10.3390/nu11030681

Vitamin A is a crucial micronutrient for pregnant women and their fetuses. In addition to being essential for morphological and functional development and for ocular integrity, vitamin A exerts systemic effects on several fetal organs and on the fetal skeleton. Vitamin A requirements during pregnancy are therefore greater. Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) remains the leading cause of preventable blindness in the world. VAD in pregnant women is a public health issue in most developing countries. In contrast, in some developed countries, excessive vitamin A intake during pregnancy can be a concern since, when in excess, this micronutrient may exert teratogenic effects in the first 60 days following conception. Routine prenatal vitamin A supplementation for the prevention of maternal and infant morbidity and mortality is not recommended; however, in regions where VAD is a public health issue, vitamin A supplementation is recommended to prevent night blindness. Given the importance of this topic and the lack of a complete, up-to-date review on vitamin A and pregnancy, an extensive review of the literature was conducted to identify conflicting or incomplete data on the topic as well as any gaps in existing data.