Always, always, always consult with your doctor about what supplements you can take during your pregnancy. Only they will be able to give you the green light on making any changes in your nutrition regimen during this time.
“It’s protein in its basic form, so there shouldn’t be any reason why pregnant people can’t take it,” OB-GYN Wendie Trubow, M.D., MBA, says about collagen, noting that there likely isn’t any additional “specific benefits other than what people generally like for hair, skin, and nails.” There are also no studies available, due to ethical challenges involving research in pregnant people.
As Ashley Jordan Ferira, Ph.D., RDN, mbg’s VP of scientific affairs, adds that “collagen studies are certainly possible, just like any other protein source could be researched during pregnancy or lactation.” Ferira goes on to say that “while these studies aren’t available yet to demonstrate that collagen intake positively affects mom and baby, given the massive abundance and predominance of collagen in cells, organs, and systems throughout the human body, it certainly seems possible and biologically plausible that collagen could be useful.”*
As we noted, if you eat fish, poultry, and meat, then you’re already ingesting collagen naturally. And just like you may be more curious about your animal sources for food, you should also be for supplements. Be sure to find a product that is transparent with their sourcing, and always buy from reputable supplement brands (we dive into what to look for later in the article, so keep reading), and again, we encourage you to talk to your medical practitioner about your supplement of choice prior to taking it.
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