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<\/p>\nDo this, take this, buy that: social media is a minefield of misinformation for expectant parents.<\/p>\n
And health experts say they’re increasingly concerned about influencers spruiking prenatal multivitamins and promoting unnecessary supplements on their social media platforms.<\/p>\n
Shelley Wilkinson, a prenatal dietitian and an obstetric medicine researcher at the University of Queensland, said many pregnant people were taking unnecessary supplements or multivitamins as a “top-up” or “just in case”.<\/p>\n
Dr Wilkinson said not only was this a waste of money for consumers, but taking a mix of different supplements had the potential to cause harm.<\/p>\n
“Women will take it thinking that more is always better, but that’s not the case,” she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“It’s a billion-dollar industry preying on people’s vulnerabilities.”<\/p>\n
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Guidelines recommend pregnant people take folic acid, iodine and \u2014 if appropriate \u2014 elemental iron daily. (Pexels: SHVETS production<\/a>)<\/p>\n What supplements are recommended?<\/p>\n Australia’s pregnancy care guidelines<\/a> recommend all pregnant people take 400\u2013600 micrograms of folic acid<\/strong> a day \u2014 ideally from four weeks before getting pregnant \u2014 to help prevent neural tube defects such as spina bifida.<\/p>\n They also recommend a daily supplement containing 150 micrograms of iodine<\/strong>, to help reduce the risks of still birth and preterm birth, although women with pre-existing thyroid conditions should discuss this with their doctor first.<\/p>\n What’s in pregnancy supplements?<\/a><\/p>\n Health experts say tighter regulations around pregnancy supplements are needed as newer brands replace folic acid with a lesser-studied alternative.<\/p>\n There’s also a few newer draft recommendations on iron supplements in the guidelines, which have been approved by steering committees, but not officially adopted.<\/p>\n These recommendations suggest pregnant people take between 60\u2013200 micrograms of elemental iron<\/strong> daily but if people experience side effects such as constipation or nausea their doctor may suggest a lower dose.<\/p>\n They also advise not to take high-dose vitamin A, C or E supplements because there is little to no benefit and they may actually harm.<\/p>\n Vitamin D supplements are also not routinely recommended during pregnancy.<\/p>\n There’s also a range of other supplements, including <\/strong>omega-3, creatine <\/strong>and collagen, which are not routinely recommended during pregnancy but are advertised by social media influencers as having benefit and sold in stores.<\/p>\n Rod Pearce, who is a practising GP in South Australia and chair of the Immunisation Coalition, said he’d seen an increase in the number of people who were taking prenatal supplements they didn’t need.\u00a0<\/p>\n “General advice, if you’ve got a good, healthy diet in Australia, you tend not to need all these extra supplements and you’re just making expensive urine,”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n he said.Prenatal multivitamin ‘overuse’<\/p>\n Evidence from a 2023 small study shows<\/a> many Australian women are overusing multivitamins while pregnant.<\/p>\n The study, led by Dr Wilkinson and University of the Sunshine Coast health researcher Linda Gallo, found nine-in-10 participants reported using supplements, with most choosing multivitamins.<\/p>\n “If people are buying these products and they and they don’t work, or they’re not giving any benefit, they are poorer for having spent the money,” Dr Wilkinson said.<\/p>\n “But the other thing is, it’s not necessarily better to take everything.”<\/p>\n Taking too many vitamins could also cause harm, she added.<\/p>\n The recommended upper limit for vitamin B6 is 50 milligrams per day, and high doses can cause irreversible nerve damage<\/a>.<\/p>\n Dr Wilkinson said many of her clients were accidentally exceeding this upper limit, with one woman unknowingly taking three different tables which all contained vitamin B6 and added up to 140 milligrams daily.<\/p>\n Shelley Wilkinson and Linda Gallo’s previous research indicates women are overusing multivitamins in pregnancy. (Supplied: Shelley Wilkinson\/Linda Gallo)<\/p>\n Dr Wilkinson said if someone did choose to use multivitamins it was also important to note that prenatal and regular multivitamins were not the same.<\/p>\n Multivitamins made for pregnant people don’t contain vitamin A which in high doses can harm a developing baby.<\/p>\n But Dr Wilkinson advises ditching prenatal multivitamin altogether and take iron, folate and iodine supplements separately.<\/p>\n This, she said, would save people money and minimise the potential for harm.<\/p>\n Dr Gallo said taking prenatal multivitamins as well as additional doses of the recommended folate, iodine and iron, could lead to negative outcomes such as gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia and preterm birth.<\/p>\n Dr Gallo said, when asked, patients who had accidentally overused supplements were motivated by the desire for good pregnancy outcomes.<\/p>\n “The vast majority will say, ‘Well, I’d just do anything I can to protect my baby,'”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n she said.Probing the social media influence<\/p>\n Despite anecdotal reports from doctors, it’s not clear how many Australian women are taking advice about prenatal vitamins from social media.<\/p>\n It’s a knowledge gap that Athena Hooymans, PhD candidate from the University of the Sunshine Coast, is attempting to fill.<\/p>\n Mrs Hooymans said she was “very surprised” about the lack of evidence available about what women were taking in Australia.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/c4ec8fa61cbb8fd64114e5818208de03.jpeg\")
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