Is pantothenic acid safe during pregnancy?

What does the evidence say about pantothenic acid during pregnancy?

1. The adequate intake for pantothenic acid in pregnancy is set at 6 mg a day, and no tolerable upper intake level exists because no adverse effects have been reported in humans or animals from oral pantothenic acid. 1
2. A separate nutrition scoping review independently arrived at a similar 6 mg a day adequate intake for pregnancy, rising to 7 mg a day during lactation, and found no basis for setting an upper limit either, citing a lack of systematic dose-response studies. 2
3. Blood pantothenic acid levels run 24 to 36% lower during pregnancy than in non-pregnant women, and the average US woman of reproductive age takes in only about 4 mg a day from food, below the 6 mg target. 3
4. A review of commercial prenatal supplements found pantothenic acid in about two-thirds of the products examined, with the amount ranging widely and fewer than half meeting the researchers' suggested higher target for pregnancy. 3
5. Older experimental deficiency research associated inadequate pantothenic acid with fatigue, headache, numbness, and muscle cramps, though true deficiency is rare given how common the vitamin is in ordinary foods, and doses above 10 grams a day, far beyond the pregnancy target, are what's linked to mild digestive side effects. 4

Is pantothenic acid safe in each trimester?

• First trimester. The adequate intake for pantothenic acid stays the same across every stage of pregnancy, including the first trimester, at 6 mg a day. Blood levels have been measured as substantially lower in pregnant women and pregnant teens than in people who aren't pregnant, though this hasn't been tied to a specific problem.
• Second trimester. Needs don't shift for the second trimester specifically. Average dietary intake among reproductive-age women in the US runs below the 6 mg target, so a prenatal vitamin that includes pantothenic acid is one practical way to help close that gap.
• Third trimester. The adequate intake holds steady into the third trimester as well. Research measuring pantothenic acid across pregnancy found levels roughly a quarter lower by the third trimester compared with non-pregnant levels, one more reason a prenatal formula that includes it is a reasonable choice.