ABSTRACT
Vitamin A seems to be a two-sided sword with respect to pregnancy and child outcome. On the one side, it is discussed that a high intake of vitamin A will exert birth defects related to the cranial neural crest; on the other side, there is clear evidence that low vitamin A intake during pregnancy is related to low birth weight and impaired lung function in the newborn. Due to the controversial discussion regarding the questionable toxicity of preformed vitamin A, it is recommended to avoid food with high vitamin A concentrations (beef or chicken liver) or supplements containing vitamin A. In contrast, supplements containing vitamin A show benecial effects especially in countries with low vitamin A intake on pregnancy outcome. Preformed vitamin A and its provitamin, β-carotene, play a major role with respect to lung development, maturation, and, at least, function.
