Ever wonder if you’re getting the right amount of vitamins and minerals while pregnant or breastfeeding? Like Goldilocks, you don’t want too little or too much – you do exactly right. Although it took Goldilocks many tries to find the right size chair and the right bowl of porridge, it doesn’t have to take you that long to find the right amount of vitamins and minerals for you!
Everyone has a 3% chance of developing a birth defect during pregnancy. Taking the right amount of FOR YOU vitamins and minerals is not expected to increase your risk for problems during pregnancy and is not expected to increase your risk for side effects during breastfeeding.
Most people in the United States get certain vitamins and minerals in their diet. However, your healthcare provider may have specific goals for you to get certain amounts of vitamins or minerals, especially during pregnancy or breastfeeding. One way to get this extra support during pregnancy is to take a prenatal vitamin that contains at least 600 mcg of folic acid (for more information on folic acid, see our fact sheet:
If you also take other supplements or drink juices and shakes that list vitamins on the nutrition label, you may be getting more than you need. Reading nutrition labels helps you keep track of how many vitamins and minerals you’re getting into your body.
DRIs: What are they?
DRI stands for Dietary Reference Intake. DRIs are a list of nutritional values used to guide people to make sure they are eating a well-balanced diet that supports their health. There are two different DRIs, but the ones used in this blog are called RDA and UL.
- RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowance): The average daily amount of a vitamin or mineral most people need.
- UL (Tolerable Upper Limit): The maximum safe amount you can take in a day without increasing the risk of side effects.
Not all vitamins and minerals have an RDA or UL. For vitamins and minerals that have DRIs, it’s usually recommended that you aim for the RDA each day, unless your healthcare provider tells you otherwise. For those who have DRIs, they may change based on age or when pregnant or breastfeeding. You’ll also be getting a lot of nutrients from your regular diet, so supplements are meant to fill in the gaps—not overload your system.
Why the Safety Supplement Matters
Supplements are regulated differently than prescription drugs. Although the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates supplements, the FDA does not test each product for safety or effectiveness before it goes on the shelf. This means that labels may not always tell the whole story, and some products may contain unknown or unlisted ingredients.
Talk to your healthcare provider before taking a supplement to make sure you’re getting the right amount of vitamins and minerals to support your health. You can contact MotherToBaby to get more information about a supplement you are considering.
Have more questions about supplements or exposures during pregnancy or breastfeeding? You can contact a specialist for teratogen information at MotherToBaby.org.
DRIs for vitamins and minerals during pregnancy and lactation:
| Name | RDA- pregnancy | UL-pregnancy | RDA-breastfeeding | UL-lactation |
| Biotin | 14+ years: 30 mcg | Unknown | 14+ years: 35 mcg | Unknown |
| Boron | Unknown | 14-18 years: 17 mg 19+ years: 20 mg | Unknown | 14-18 years: 17 mg 19+ years: 20 mg |
| Calcium | 14-18 years: 1,300 mg 19+ years: 1,000 mg | 14-18 years: 3,000 mg 19+ years: 2,500 mg | 14-18 years: 1,300 mg 19+ years: 1,000 mg | 14-18 years: 3,000 mg 19+ years: 2,500 mg |
| Choline | 14+ years: 450 mg | 14-18 years: 3,000 mg 19+ years: 3,500 mg | 14+ years: 550 mg | 14-18 years: 3,000 mg 19+ years: 3,500 mg |
| Chromium | 14-18 years: 29 mcg 19+ years: 30 mcg | Unknown | 14-18 years: 44 mcg 19+ years: 45 mcg | Unknown |
| Copper | 14+ years: 1,000 mcg | 14-18 years: 8,000 mcg 19+ years: 10,000 mcg | 14+ years: 1,300 mcg | 14-18 years: 8,000 mcg 19+ years: 10,000 mcg |
| Folic Acid | 14+ years: 600 mcg DFE | 14-18 years: 800 mcg 19+ years: 1,000 mcg | 14+ years: 500 mcg DFE | 14-18 years: 800 mcg 19+ years: 1,000 mcg |
| Iodine | 14+ years: 220 mcg | 14-18 years: 900 mcg 19+ years: 1,100 mcg | 14+ years: 290 mcg | 14-18 years: 900 mcg 19+ years: 1,100 mcg |
| Iron | 14+ years: 27 mg | 14+ years: 45 mg | 14-18 years: 10 mg 19+ years: 9 mg | 14+ years: 45 mg |
| Magnesium | 14-18 years: 400 mg 19-30 years: 350 mg 30+ years: 360 mg | 9+ years: 350 mg* | 14-18 years: 360 mg 19-30 years: 310 mg 30+ years: 320 mg | 9+ years: 350 mg* |
| Manganese | 14+ years: 2.0 mg | 14-18 years: 9 mg 19+ years: 11 mg | 14+ years: 2.6 mg | 14-18 years: 9 mg 19+ years: 11 mg |
| Molybdenum | 14+ years: 50 mcg | 14-18 years: 1,700 mcg 19+ years: 2,000 mcg | 14+ years: 50 mcg | 14-18 years: 1,700 mcg 19+ years: 2,000 mcg |
| Nicotinic acid | 14+ years: 18 mg NE | 14-18 years: 30 mg 19+ years: 35 mg | 14+ years: 17 mg NE | 14-18 years: 30 mg 19+ years: 35 mg |
| Omega-3 fatty acids | 14+ years: 1,400 mg | Unknown | 14+ years: 1,300 mg | Unknown |
| Pantothenic acid | 14+ years: 6 mg | Unknown | 14+ years: 7 mg | Unknown |
| Phosphorus | 14-18 years: 1,250 mg 19+ years: 700 mg | 14+ years: 3,500 mg | 14-18 years: 1,250 mg 19+ years: 700 mg | 14+ years: 4,000 mg |
| Potassium | 14-18 years: 2,600 mg 19+ years: 2,900 mg | Unknown | 14-18 years: 2,500 mg 19+ years: 2,800 mg | Unknown |
| Riboflavin | 14+ years: 1.4 mg | Unknown | 14+ years: 1.6 mg | Unknown |
| Selenium | 14+ years: 60 mcg | 14+ years: 400 mcg | 14+ years: 70 mcg | 14+ years: 400 mcg |
| Thiamine | 14+ years: 1.4 mg | Unknown | 14+ years: 1.4 mg | Unknown |
| Vitamin A | 14-18 years: 750 mcg RAE 19+ years: 770 mcg RAE | 14-18 years: 2,800 mcg 19+ years: 3,000 mcg | 14-18 years: 1,200 mcg RAE 19+ years: 1,300 mcg RAE | 14-18 years: 2,800 mcg 19+ years: 3,000 mcg |
| Vitamin B6 | 14+ years: 1.9 mg | 14-18 years: 80 mg 19+ years: 100 mg | 14+ years: 2.0 mg | 14-18 years: 80 mg 19+ years: 100 mg |
| Vitamin B12 | 14+ years: 2.6 mcg | Unknown | 14+ years: 2.8 mcg | Unknown |
| Vitamin C | 14-18 years: 80 mg 19+ years: 85 mg | 14-18 years: 1,800 mg 19+ years: 2,000 mg | 14-18 years: 115 mg 19+ years: 120 mg | 14-18 years: 1,800 mg 19+ years: 2,000 mg |
| Vitamin D | 14+ years: 15 mcg (600 IU) | 14+ years: 100 mcg (4,000 IU) | 14+ years: 15 mcg (600 IU) | 14+ years: 100 mcg (4,000 IU) |
| Vitamin E | 14+ years: 15 mg | 14-18 years: 800 mg 19+ years: 1,000 mg | 14+ years: 19 mg | 14-18 years: 800 mg 19+ years: 1,000 mg |
| Vitamin K | 14-18 years: 75 mcg 19+ years: 90 mcg | Unknown | 14-18 years: 75 mcg 19+ years: 90 mcg | Unknown |
| Zinc | 14-18 years: 12 mg 19+ years: 11 mg | 14-18 years: 34 mg 19+ years: 40 mg | 14-18 years: 13 mg 19+ years: 12 mg | 14-18 years: 34 mg 19+ years: 40 mg |
(This chart was last updated on 9/29/2025)
*Note: The UL for magnesium applies to supplements only. You can safely get more from food, as the RDA includes dietary magnesium.
Where can I find more information?
MotherToBaby has fact sheets on some of the common vitamins and minerals that may be found in a multivitamin or prenatal vitamin. For more detailed information on a specific vitamin or mineral, see the following fact sheets:
- Folic acid –
- Iodine –
- Iron –
- Vitamin B12 –
- Vitamin C –
- Vitamin D –
- Vitamin E –
- Vitamin K –
- Zinc –
References
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 1998. Dietary Reference Intakes for Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin B12, Pantothenic Acid, Biotin, and Choline. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/6015.
National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements. 2025. Dietary Supplement Fact Sheets. US Department of Human and Health Services.
Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. 2023. Dietary Reference Intakes. US Department of Human and Health Services.
