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Vitamin A and Birth Defects The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development released a news article in July, 1997, stating a moderate dose of Vitamin A does not pose risk of birth defects. This statement is contrary to what many researchers had believed. The NIH news release goes on to state that taking daily doses of between 8,000 and 10,000 International Units (I.U.) of Vitamin A during pregnancy does not appear to cause birth defects. The study also said it is very rare for women to take more than 10,000 I.U. of the vitamin each day. Because the study included women who did take large doses of Vitamin A, it is not possible to ascertain whether larges doses of Vitamin A could cause birth defects. Although, this is study in the minority of the articles I read, it was interesting reading a study which appeared to show the recommended daily allowance for Vitamin A is not likely to cause any birth defects. One fact pointed out by the NIH News Alert was the drug Isotretinoin. Isotretinoin is a drug used to treat acne. It is chemically very similar to vitamin A and small quantities of this c