Is Collagen Safe During Pregnancy? An M.D. Explains

We’ve been pretty confident stating that nearly everyone of all ages can take collagen. But, we still receive important questions like this:

Is it safe to take collagen while being pregnant?Maria

Thanks, Maria for inspiring us to address a critical topic around collagen and collagen supplements during pregnancy.

Before we solicit the help of our very own Dr. Cate, allow us to take a moment to say Congratulations! What an exciting time for you, your family, and your friends. In case you didn’t know, CB Supplements was founded because of kids (one kid, in particular, see Charlie’s collagen testimonial) — so, we love this question!

If not pregnant, we still congratulate you for seeking information to help the future you or others. Thank you for being here.

Pregnancy & Collagen: this deserves a Doctor’s opinion

What you put into your body during pregnancy deserves scrutiny and we understand your desire to make smart, healthy, and safe decisions while pregnant. Who better to answer whether it’s safe to take collagen during pregnancy than Dr. Cate, M.D.

She’s a board-certified, 20+ year medical doctor, biochemist, and CB Supplements’ Medical & Scientific Advisor (see Our Team). We as a company, with her lead, believe that you should get your nutrition from food first, THEN supplement. We’re not like other supplement companies that preach the reverse. Our hope is you see this difference in how we answer this question with Dr. Cate’s help.

Of course, you should always consult with your obstetrician, midwife, and/or doctor before making any supplement decisions.

Now, let’s dig into safety.

Is Collagen Safe while Pregnant?

You’re probably asking if a collagen protein supplement is safe while pregnant, but let’s delineate here — like we continually do in numerous Collagen College articles — to ensure this question has context.

Collagen is protein. And Collagen is food. If you’re pregnant, and simply wanting more collagen protein, we’d first recommend getting it from these 4 foods that contain collagen. Traditional cuisines include collagen-rich:

• soups
• sauces
• stocks
• gravies

Many of these cuisines include special pregnancy soups.

All of these foods will help to make sure the woman gets ample collagen supporting nutrition. We don’t do that in this modern day and age and it’s a great loss and shame.Dr. Cate, M.D.

If you hate bone broth, organ meats, meat on the bone, and eggshell membrane — your pregnancy can still get all the benefits of collagen with supplements.

Are Collagen Supplements Safe while Pregnant?

Collagen supplements are ALSO food.

The FDA states that food converted into powder is considered a dietary supplement. But, make no mistake about it, collagen peptides are made by extracting collagen from animals such as cows, chickens, fish, and eggshell membrane.

And since collagen is considered food, collagen is safe to take with other vitamins recommended during pregnancy such as folic acid, iron, calcium, D, and more.

Are there risks to collagen supplements during pregnancy?

As long as you don’t have severe, life-threatening allergies to the aforementioned ingredients, you’ll be in the clear. Collagen protein is amino acids — the basic building blocks of proteins. If you eat anything with protein, you’re getting most of these amino acids found in a collagen protein supplement.

Below we’ve listed a few tips to choosing a safe collagen supplement while pregnant. But first, let’s talk benefits.

Benefits of Collagen during Pregnancy

Eating more foods with collagen and/or supplements will help both Mom and baby.

Pregnancy is a time that you can potentially make up for some of the lack of nutrition in your past that may be impacting your health.Dr. Cate, M.D.

This is due to all the growth hormones and it’s a little like getting a jolt of youth serum. For example, some women report eyesight improvements. This may be related to vitamin A deficiency during their childhood that can be corrected during pregnancy thanks in part to the many anabolic (growth) hormones swirling around the bloodstream.

That said, if your collagen was suboptimal, then now is a great time for YOU (mom, not baby) to do some collagen banking.

More interesting is that there’s reason to believe that collagen could benefit the baby because the unique amino acids would cross the placenta and program the baby for a lifetime of healthier connective tissue, potentially. Meaning clearer skin, stronger joints, healthier arteries.

Let’s talk more about the placenta.

Placenta Health & Type V Collagen

Did you know that Type V collagen is found in the placenta of an expecting mother and supports neonatal development?

Guess what else has Type V collagen? That’s right. Our multi collagen protein supplements.

For pregnancy to be successful, the placenta must have a strong connection to the uterus. The connection point is called the maternal-fetal interface. This interface is highly dependent on collagen expression and simply would not exist without collagen.

Collagen plays a key role in supporting placental attachment and ability to nourish the growing baby.NCBI

“There is very little research on the ability of collagen supplements to support a healthy pregnancy”, states Dr. Cate. “But, there should be. Every time we look into whether collagen peptides can support a given type of connective tissue growth, we discover that they can!”

Tips for buying the Best Collagen Supplement while Pregnant

Protein powders, antioxidant supplements, and vitamins and minerals are notorious for being contaminated with metals during the manufacturing process. The safest and cleanest supplements for pregnant women are free of heavy metals. More about heavy metals and collagen.

Here’s what to look for in a collagen supplement if you’re pregnant:

1. Manufactured in a GMP Certified Facility.
2. Third-party Heavy Metal Testing. Third-party is key here, any collagen can say “it’s safe”, but make them prove it. Our multi collagen is NSF Certified to confirm our collagen peptides have no unsafe levels of heavy metals.
3. Quality Ingredients. If a single-source collagen, ensure it uses grass-fed beef or wild-caught fish. If a multi collagen supplement (like us!), also look for cage-free chickens.
4. Multi Collagen. You’ll get all 5 types of collagen (I, II, III, V, & X) in every scoop. Remember, type V collagen is found in the placenta! You can only find type V collagen in multi — one of the many benefits of a multi collagen protein.
5. Flavor Variety. Dysgeusia during pregnancy ain’t no joke. To help ease the consumption burden along the way, flavored collagen powder is your ally!

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Can I take Collagen Postpartum?

If you’re taking collagen during your pregnancy with no adverse reactions, you can certainly continue postpartum. With a variety of ways to take collagen powder, you’ll find a way to sneak it into foods and drinks while settling into the demands of motherhood.

However, as we explored in what age should you start taking collagen, we’d recommend waiting until age 2 before starting your child on collagen supplementation.

Final Thoughts

Nourishing Mom AND baby during pregnancy is something we take seriously. We believe collagen is a missing food group from the average person’s diet and highly encourage getting all the collagen you can while pregnant. Eat foods with collagen, or eat our supplement. We’re happy to help!

Now, go plan that well-deserved babymoon.