Choline has recently begun to gain recognition as an essential supplement for pregnancy, with some experts arguing that it is equally important for developmental support in early pregnancy as folic acid. However, there are still a lot of pregnant women in the dark about its uses, benefits and the potential risks associated with choline deficiency during pregnancy.
In this article, our resident women’s health expert Josephine Smith BsC Health Science shares her guidance on the benefits of prenatal choline supplements and why choline for pregnancy support is so important.
What is Choline?
Choline is a water soluble compound, meaning it’s neither categorised as a mineral or a vitamin, but this doesn’t mean our bodies don’t need it to support normal function in lots of ways. As an essential nutrient it helps support numerous bodily functions, from brain function and health, to healthy liver function and aiding our nervous system as well. Our bodies produce it in small quantities in the liver, meaning diet is often crucial for achieving the necessary recommended intake to fuel our bodies in these areas.
Benefits of Choline
As mentioned, Choline helps support the body in many ways from cell and tissue maintenance to liver health. Choline supplement benefits are similar to those of vitamin B supplements, which means they’re often taken together or produced in the same formulations. In the table below, we’ve outlined some of the benefits of choline and how it supports your body.
| Health Area | How Choline Helps |
| Cells | Choline is used to make fats that support healthy cell membranes, supporting the structure of our cells themselves. It also helps our bodies produce vital compounds or signalling molecules that send messages between cells to help our tissues and organs function. |
| Metabolism and Weight | Choline is crucial in the process of removing cholesterol from the liver, which prevents liver damage (fatty liver) over time. |
| Nervous System | Our bodies require choline to create acetylcholine which is a critical neurotransmitter involved in muscle movement, cognitive function and autonomous actions such as regulating breathing and heartbeat. |
| DNA | Combined with folate (vitamin B12) choline helps support healthy DNA synthesis; critical for growth, development and maintaining healthy tissues and cells. |
Read on for the specific benefits of choline in pregnancy…
How Much Choline Do We Need Daily?
Our in-house practitioner Josephine Smith recommends a typical adult requires between 425mg (females) or 550mg (males) daily to support the body in the ways we’ve discussed. However, during pregnancy and breastfeeding, the body requires enhanced intake to help support both the mother and the developing baby, making this figure closer to 550mg daily for women when breastfeeding and 430mg when pregnant.
Choline in Pregnancy
As an essential nutrient needed to support many of our bodily functions and processes, choline acts very similarly to folic acid, making it very important during pregnancy; supporting both mother and baby. Below, we’ll go into more detail about the ways choline supports the mother’s body, the development of the baby and why it should be considered a crucial pregnancy supplement to consider if you are currently pregnant or trying to conceive.
Why is Choline Important During Pregnancy?
Choline in pregnancy is particularly important as it contributes hugely to the healthy development of the baby, as well as helping the mother’s body support the pregnancy. Further research into choline and its benefits is identifying choline as an essential pregnancy nutrient for the prevention of neural tube defects, much like folic acid. Amongst its other benefits, choline supports both mother and baby in the following ways:
| Health Area | How Choline Supports Baby | How Choline Supports Mother |
| Brain and Nervous Systems | Helps maintain normal cognitive function, memory and mood regulation | Supports healthy neural tube development and supports brain development |
| Cell Formation | Supports the development of organs and is an essential nutrient for rapid cell division | Supports the structure of cells and helps the body repair tissue |
| DNA and gene regulation | Helps support gene development and positive epigenetic programming | Supports DNA synthesis |
| Metabolism | Helps ensure nutrient delivery to the baby and helps growth and weight gain in utero | Regulates fat accumulation in the liver, preventing liver damage and complications such as fatty liver disease |
| Neurotransmitter production | Supports the development the brain, particularly brain signalling and supports early learning and cognitive capacity | Supports memory, cognitive performance, muscle control and normal nervous system function |
| Placental function | Ensures healthy nutrient transfer to the baby | Supports overall pregnancy health |
| Development | Reduces the risk of neural tube defects such as spina bifida and aids the healthy development of the spinal cord | Supports overall pregnancy health and reduces the risk of complications during pregnancy |
| Lipid Metabolism | Supports proper growth and energy use for the baby | Helps regulate cholesterol and contributes to lessened cardiovascular strain |
Are you Supposed to Take Choline During Pregnancy?
When pregnant, the demand for choline in the body increases as the expectant mother is utilising her own stores for both herself and her growing baby. Choline supports every single cell in our bodies, so ensuring your growing baby is getting enough is crucial for the normal, healthy development of their organs, tissues and more.
If you don’t eat many choline rich foods and are unlikely to achieve recommended intake from diet alone, it’s recommended that you consider a prenatal choline supplement for added support during pregnancy.
Choline isn’t always included in prenatal vitamin formulations so check the label and then consider whether you opt for an additional supplement to help boost your choline levels during pregnancy.
What is the Best Choline Supplement for Pregnancy?
The best choline supplement for pregnancy will depend on your own personal preferences and supplementation routine. Supplements typically offer between 10mg and 250mg of choline daily, so consider your diet and lifestyle and whether you need higher or lower dose amounts to complement this and ensure adequate intake. To avoid fillers that pad out poor quality supplements and ensure you’re getting high quality intake, look for practitioner graded supplements; like the ones we carry at Supplement Hub. During pregnancy or breastfeeding, typically the higher amounts are recommended to ensure you’re bridging any nutritional gaps during these demanding periods, to help support your health as well as your baby’s.
Choline supplements are available as both individual choline supplements as well as often being included in formulations such as vitamin B complex supplements, thanks to their shared benefits. As with any supplements, particularly ones you’re introducing to your routine during pregnancy, consult with your GP or midwife to ensure that your chosen choline supplement is pregnancy safe.
Choline in Foods: Supporting Intake with Diet
As mentioned previously, diet is an excellent way to support adequate daily intake. The table below outlines several key sources of choline in food, along with the approximate amounts in each. If you’re following specialist diets or are adverse to any of these food groups, choline supplements can help boost your intake and ensure optimal intake is achieved regularly.
| Food Type | Amount of Choline Present |
| Egg (Yolks specifically) | Approx. 147mg |
| Chicken Breast | Approx 70mg |
| Broccoli (100g) | Approx 60mg |
| Beef Liver (85g) | Approx 350mg |
| Fresh Salmon Fillet (85g) | Approx 190mg |
| Cottage cheese (210g) | Approx 39mg |
| Soybeans (100g) | Approx 214mg |
| Wheat Germ (84g) | Approx 153mg |
| Cauliflower (160g) | Approx 72mg |
| Almonds (28g) | Approx 15mg |
Choline Deficiency Symptoms
As with any essential nutrient, vitamin or mineral that our bodies require, if intake is not achieved through diet or supplementation stores can deplete quicker than they are replenished, leading to deficiencies. Choline deficiencies themselves are rare, but lifestyle choices like vegan or vegetarian diets as well as lifestyle changes such as pregnancy and breastfeeding can mean your body struggles to meet the recommended intake amount.
What are the Signs of Choline Deficiency?
The most prominent signs of choline deficiency or poor intake include the following:
- Fatigue
- Memory problems or brain fog
- Mood disturbances or alterations in mood
- Increased inflammation
However, this doesn’t mean that other symptoms cannot be associated with choline deficiency or lack of choline in the body. If you have any concerns about new symptoms you should always consult your health care practitioner or GP for thorough assessment of your symptoms.
How Choline Deficiency Affects the Body
Choline deficiency or low choline intake can affect the body in several ways, presenting first with initial symptoms but if left undetected it can cause long term impacts to your health. Below, we’ve outlined some of the most common symptoms and the long-term impacts these can have on your overall health.
| Initial Symptom | Long Term Impact |
| Fatigue or low energy | Metabolic dysfunction, irregular weight gain and reduced energy. |
| Muscular aches | Chronic muscle damage and long-term mobility issues |
| Memory problems or brain fog | Long-term cognitive decline, increased risks of neurodegenerative conditions and diseases such as Alzheimer's disease |
| Mood disturbances or changes | Long-term damage to emotional and mental wellbeing, anxiety, and other mood disorders |
| Early liver dysfunction | Fatty liver disease (nonalcoholic), cirrhosis and potential liver failure |
| Cardiovascular irregularities | increased risk of cardiovascular disease and complications |
Supporting Healthy Pregnancy with Supplements
As well as choline, there are several other supplements recommended by the NHS for use throughout pregnancy to help support overall pregnancy health and ensure the proper development of the fetus. These include folic acid of methylfolate, vitamin D, and calcium to name just a few. As well as recommended vitamins for use during pregnancy, there are several supplements to avoid for the health of you and your baby, so understanding your options, understanding your body and the changes it’s going through and making informed decisions is important.
Our trimester by trimester guide helps you understand how and why you need certain nutrients, at certain times during pregnancy and how to pick the right ones for you.
However, nutritional support doesn’t have to wait until pregnancy. There are also several supplements that help prepare the body for conception and aid both men’s fertility and women’s.
