Why Is Choline Important During Pregnancy And Why is it often overlooked?

Choline is a water-soluble nutrient, often grouped with the B-vitamins, that helps build your baby’s cells and support brain and nervous-system development.¹ Yet most pregnant women, even those eating well and taking a prenatal, are not meeting recommended choline intakes.²

This guide walks you through what choline is, why it matters in pregnancy and how to get more from food and supplements.

What Is Choline and Why Does It Matter in Pregnancy?

Choline plays several important roles in the body. It helps build cell membranes, supports methylation (a process that helps regulate how genes function), and is needed to make neurotransmitters like acetylcholine, which are important for memory and muscle function.¹

During pregnancy, your need for choline increases because:

• It supports normal brain and spinal cord development, working alongside nutrients like folate.
• It contributes to the development of the hippocampus, a key area of the brain involved in memory and learning.
• It plays a role in placental function and helps support a healthy internal environment during pregnancy.

Research continues to build around choline’s role in pregnancy, particularly in relation to baby’s brain development and overall pregnancy outcomes. While it is not a single “magic nutrient”, it is increasingly recognised as an important piece of the puzzle.

Choline Deficiency

Here’s the surprising part: most pregnant women are not getting enough choline, even if they eat a generally healthy diet and take a prenatal supplement.⁵ Estimates suggest that only one in ten women meet recommended intakes.

Emerging research has linked higher maternal choline intake with improvements in aspects of infant development, including attention and early cognitive function. At the same time, higher choline status has been associated with a lower risk of certain adverse pregnancy outcomes.

While these findings don’t mean choline is a cure-all, they do highlight an important gap: choline is essential, yet often overlooked or under-represented in prenatal nutrition.

Food Sources of Choline

Many people assume they are getting enough choline from their diet, but in reality it can be harder to reach optimal levels than expected.

Choline is found in a range of foods, with particularly rich sources including:

• Eggs (especially the yolk)
  
• Meat and poultry
• Fish and seafood
• Dairy products (milk, yogurt, cheese)
• Some plant foods such as soybeans, beans, quinoa, cruciferous vegetables, nuts and seeds

Rough Examples of Choline in Foods

Approximate amounts per typical serving look like:

• 2 large eggs: ~250–300 mg choline
• 85 g beef or chicken: ~60–90 mg choline
• 120 g salmon: ~60–90 mg choline
• 240 ml (1 cup) milk: ~40 mg choline
• 100 g tofu or soybeans: ~60–100 mg choline
• ½ cup cooked broccoli: ~30–35 mg choline

Current recommendations for pregnancy are around 400–450 mg per day, although some experts suggest that higher intakes may offer additional benefits.

Barriers in Real Life

Real pregnancy is not always straightforward. Nausea, food aversions (especially to eggs and meat), and dietary preferences such as vegetarian or vegan diets can all make it harder to reach optimal choline intake.

While plant foods do contain choline, it is generally more difficult to meet requirements without including animal sources, which is where supplements can become useful.

Supplements: How to Think About Choline

Most standard prenatal multivitamins still contain little or no choline. When reviewing a supplement, it is worth checking both whether choline is included and whether the amount is meaningful.

Because choline is a bulky nutrient, it is difficult to include higher doses in a single capsule. As a result, some formulations provide a supportive amount, while others offer choline as a separate supplement.

Safety Note: Any supplement changes should be discussed with your midwife, GP, obstetrician, or relevant healthcare practitioner.

Zita West Choline

Our 400mg choline supplement (choline bitartrate) has been specifically formulated to be used alongside our Vital Essence range from trimester 1 through to 3, as well as during the postnatal period alongside Revital Essence.

Complementary Nutrients

Choline works best alongside other key nutrients:

• Folate: Supports neural tube development and works closely with choline in methylation processes.
• B-Vitamins (B12, B6): Help support related metabolic pathways.
• DHA Omega-3: Contributes to normal brain and eye development.

FAQ

Is choline really necessary in pregnancy if I’m already taking folic acid?

Folic acid is essential, but choline supports additional aspects of brain and nervous-system development. They work best together rather than as alternatives.

How much choline do I need in pregnancy?

Baseline recommendations are around 400 mg per day, though some research suggests that higher combined intakes from diet and supplements may offer additional benefits.

Can I get enough choline from food if I don’t eat eggs or meat?

It is more challenging, but possible with careful planning using foods like soybeans, beans and cruciferous vegetables. A supplement can help bridge the gap.

Which Zita West supplements contain choline?

Zita West Choline (standalone) and the Vital Essence range both include choline to support pregnancy nutrition.

References

1. Institute of Medicine (US). 1998. Dietary Reference Intakes for Choline. National Academies Press.
2. Zeisel SH, da Costa KA. 2009. Choline: an essential nutrient for public health. Nutr Rev. 67(11):615-623.
3. Wiedeman AM et al. 2022. Maternal choline, fetal brain development, and child neurocognition. Adv Nutr. 13(6):2341-2364.
4. Nantong University cohort. 2026. Maternal dietary choline intake and infant intelligence. Eur J Nutr.
5. Gomes da Silva M et al. 2025. Choline in pregnant women: a systematic review. Nutr Rev. 83(2):e273-e288.
6. Caudill MA et al. 2018. Maternal choline improves infant information processing speed. FASEB J. 32(4):2172-2180.
7. Klancic T, Wood R. 2023. Choline supplementation in pregnancy. Nutrients. 15(21):4761.
8. UK Department of Health and Social Care. 2021. Vitamins and minerals in pregnancy.