Australians taking unnecessary vitamins during pregnancy, experts say

Unnecessary prenatal supplements marketed at expectant parents, experts say Sat 8 Aug 2026 at 12:00pm In short: Australia's pregnancy care guidelines recommend daily folic acid, iodine and iron supplements for the majority of pregnant people. But health experts are concerned social media influencers are marketing additional, unnecessary supplements to parents that were either ineffective or may cause harm. What's next? Research is attempting to pinpoint the types of supplements Australians are taking and what influenced their decision. Do this, take this, buy that: social media is a minefield of misinformation for expectant parents. And health experts say they're increasingly concerned about influencers spruiking prenatal multivitamins and promoting unnecessary supplements on their social media platforms. 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". 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. "Women will take it thinking that more is always better, but that's not the case," she said. "It's a billion-dollar industry preying on people's vulnerabilities." What supplements are recommended? Australia's pregnancy care guidelines recommend all pregnant people take 400–600 micrograms of folic acid a day — ideally from four weeks before getting pregnant — to help prevent neural tube defects such as spina bifida. They also recommend a daily supplement containing 150 micrograms of iodine, 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. 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. These recommendations suggest pregnant people take between 60–200 micrograms of elemental iron daily but if people experience side effects such as constipation or nausea their doctor may suggest a lower dose. 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. Vitamin D supplements are also not routinely recommended during pregnancy. There's also a range of other supplements, including omega-3, creatine and collagen, which are not routinely recommended during pregnancy but are advertised by social media influencers as having benefit and sold in stores. 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. "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,"he said. Prenatal multivitamin 'overuse' Evidence from a 2023 small study shows many Australian women are overusing multivitamins while pregnant. 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. "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. "But the other thing is, it's not necessarily better to take everything." Taking too many vitamins could also cause harm, she added. The recommended upper limit for vitamin B6 is 50 milligrams per day, and high doses can cause irreversible nerve damage. 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. 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. Multivitamins made for pregnant people don't contain vitamin A which in high doses can harm a developing baby. But Dr Wilkinson advises ditching prenatal multivitamin altogether and take iron, folate and iodine supplements separately. This, she said, would save people money and minimise the potential for harm. 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. Dr Gallo said, when asked, patients who had accidentally overused supplements were motivated by the desire for good pregnancy outcomes. "The vast majority will say, 'Well, I'd just do anything I can to protect my baby,'"she said. Probing the social media influence Despite anecdotal reports from doctors, it's not clear how many Australian women are taking advice about prenatal vitamins from social media. It's a knowledge gap that Athena Hooymans, PhD candidate from the University of the Sunshine Coast, is attempting to fill. Mrs Hooymans said she was "very surprised" about the lack of evidence available about what women were taking in Australia. She's asking people about the type of prenatal supplements they're taking and who recommended them — whether that's a doctor, a friend or a social media influencer. Dr Gallo, who has been supervising this research, said although Australia had solid guidelines, they weren't very user friendly and most women didn't know how to find or navigate them. After sifting through the survey results, Mrs Hooymans and Dr Gallo hope to interview participants before pulling together some educational material for doctors to use to discuss supplements and multivitamins with their patients. Dr Gallo said some of her yet-to-be-published research showed many Australian doctors were not aware that iron was now routinely recommended, showing a slight disconnect. Sara Whitburn, practising GP and chair of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners' sexual and reproductive health special interest group, said the advice across a range of areas — including pregnancy care guidelines — was often being updated, and it was a lot for GPs to stay across. She urged expectant patients who saw prenatal health information on social media to be cautious, and to consider if the person posting that information was being paid for the content and if the claims were backed by scientific evidence. "When you're looking at social media, ask yourself: 'What resources are they using? What are their references?'" she said. "Try and check some of these other websites that are showing the [pregnancy care] guidelines, showing evidence-based information and trying to put those together and hopefully come out with a balanced approach." 'Food first' approach recommended As well as taking folate, iron and iodine, Dr Gallo said the best thing that pregnant women could do for their health was stay active and eat a wide variety of healthy food. This meant limiting caffeine, avoiding alcohol and eating lots of wholefoods, a mix of different coloured fruits and vegetables as well as whole grains and iron-rich foods, Dr Gallo said. "A very nutrient-rich diet should be absolutely the foundation," she said. But Dr Gallo said evidence suggested just one-in-four pregnant women were eating the recommended serves of vegetables and legumes, prompting the need for specialists to chat about dietary needs with their pregnant patients. Dr Wilkinson said patients should talk to their doctors about any and all supplements they took, even if they were advertised as all-natural or safe products, in case a combination could lead to a vitamin overload. She said people with diagnosed vitamin deficiencies or complex health issues should talk to their doctor about whether they needed additional supplements, as well as iron, iodine and folate. Everyone else, she advised taking a "food-first approach" to making sure they were getting all the vitamins they needed. "No-one can get enough iodine and folate from diet alone," she said. "But all the other supplements, we should be spending our time talking to women about how to include it in their diet, rather than popping these pills. "And if you have a health question, talk to your doctor or someone who's qualified."