The short answer
NHS says do not take cod liver oil or supplements containing vitamin A, sometimes labelled retinol, when you are pregnant, because too much vitamin A can harm your baby's development. It adds two words that carry the whole practical burden: always check the label.
NHS also says to avoid foods high in vitamin A, such as liver, which is the food half of the same question and is covered in the pâté and liver guide.
Confusion one: fish oil and fish liver oil
This is the one that catches people who are doing everything right. Omega-3 supplements are widely recommended, someone reaches for cod liver oil because it is the omega-3 product they have heard of, and the word liver in the middle of the name goes unnoticed.
The difference is exactly that word. Cod liver oil is pressed from the liver, which is where vitamin A concentrates in an animal, and it is the product NHS names specifically. Other omega-3 supplements are made from body oil rather than liver.
Because product labelling and formulation vary, the reliable move is the one NHS actually gives rather than a rule of thumb about names: read the label for vitamin A or retinol. A product that lists neither is a different situation from one that does, whatever the front of the bottle says.
Confusion two: retinol and beta-carotene
The second one sends people the other way, into avoiding foods they do not need to avoid. Someone reads that vitamin A is a problem in pregnancy, remembers that carrots are full of vitamin A, and starts worrying about a roast dinner.
NHS treats these separately. It lists beta-carotene as a way to get vitamin A, because the body can convert it into retinol, and names the main food sources: yellow, red and green leafy vegetables such as spinach, carrots, sweet potatoes and red peppers, and yellow fruit such as mango, papaya and apricots. No pregnancy warning is attached to that list.
The pregnancy advice is about preformed vitamin A, the retinol form found in liver and in supplements. So the sweet potato is not the problem the guidance is describing, and treating it as one makes a pregnancy diet harder for no benefit.
What you are actually looking for on a label
| On the label | What it means here |
|---|---|
| Cod liver oil, halibut liver oil, fish liver oil | NHS names cod liver oil directly as one not to take in pregnancy. Any liver oil is worth treating the same way and checking. |
| Vitamin A, or retinol, or retinyl palmitate or acetate | This is the form the advice is about. NHS says not to take supplements containing it during pregnancy. |
| Beta-carotene | A different thing, which the body converts. NHS lists it as a way to get vitamin A and puts no pregnancy warning on the food sources. |
| A multivitamin not sold as a prenatal | Worth checking rather than assuming. General multivitamins are not formulated for pregnancy and can contain vitamin A. |
Label guidance from NHS pregnancy vitamins and supplements and NHS vitamin A.
Paste a supplement label into the label checker to pull out the wording worth reading twice, or see the protein powder guide if the product in question is a powder rather than a capsule.
What NHS recommends taking instead
The guidance is not that supplements are unhelpful in pregnancy, and it is worth reading the positive half rather than only the warning. NHS recommends 400 micrograms of folic acid a day, ideally starting three months before conception and continuing through the first 12 weeks, and it recommends vitamin D.
NHS also says to speak to a GP if you need a higher dose of folic acid or have questions about other supplements, which is the right route for anything this page cannot answer for your situation.
If you already took it
Taking cod liver oil before realising, or before knowing you were pregnant, is common and is not something to spiral over.
Like the mercury question and unlike every infection question on this site, this is about accumulated intake rather than a single exposure. There is no symptom to watch for and no test to ask for, which means there is also no waiting period to sit through.
The useful response is short and forward-looking. Stop taking it, check whether anything else you take lists vitamin A or retinol since it is easy to double up across a multivitamin and a separate supplement, and mention it at your next appointment, particularly if it was a regular habit rather than a few days.
Keep the label with the question
Supplement questions are easier to answer when the actual ingredient list is to hand rather than remembered. Nouri can hold a label photo with the date and the question you want to ask, so your appointment starts from the product rather than from recollection.
Common questions
Can you take cod liver oil while pregnant?
NHS says do not take cod liver oil or supplements containing vitamin A, sometimes labelled retinol, when you are pregnant, because too much vitamin A can harm your baby's development. NHS also advises always checking the label.
Is fish oil the same as cod liver oil?
They are different products, and the difference is the liver. Cod liver oil is pressed from the liver, which is where vitamin A concentrates, and NHS names it specifically. Other omega-3 supplements are made from body oil rather than liver. Because labelling varies, the reliable move is the one NHS gives: read the label for vitamin A or retinol rather than judging by the word fish oil.
Do I need to avoid carrots and sweet potato?
No. NHS lists beta-carotene as a way to get vitamin A, and names yellow, red and green vegetables such as spinach, carrots, sweet potatoes and red peppers, and yellow fruit such as mango, papaya and apricots, without attaching a pregnancy warning to them. The pregnancy advice is about preformed vitamin A, or retinol, not about plant sources of beta-carotene.
What does NHS recommend taking instead?
NHS recommends 400 micrograms of folic acid a day, ideally from three months before conception and through the first 12 weeks, and vitamin D. It advises speaking to a GP if you need a higher dose of folic acid or have questions about other supplements.
I took cod liver oil before I knew I was pregnant. What now?
Vitamin A is about accumulated intake rather than a single dose, so there is no symptom to watch for and no test to request. Stop taking it, check whether any other supplement you take lists vitamin A or retinol, and mention it at your next appointment, particularly if you were taking it regularly.
Related Nouri pages
Sources checked on 1 September 2026
- NHS: Pregnancy vitamins and supplements, including supplements to avoid
- NHS: Vitamin A, including beta-carotene food sources
- NHS: Foods to avoid in pregnancy
Open the linked source for its latest version. This page is educational, is not a substitute for advice about your own supplements, and does not replace your GP, midwife or pharmacist.