Choline is a nutrient your body uses to build cells and to make a brain chemical involved in memory and muscle control. Your needs go up during pregnancy and breastfeeding, and most women don’t get enough. Unlike folic acid, choline often isn’t in prenatal vitamins.

The short version

  • How much: 450 milligrams (mg) a day during pregnancy and 550 mg while breastfeeding, according to the NIH.
  • Most women fall short: only about 8% of pregnant women in the U.S. get the recommended amount, according to the NIH.
  • Prenatals often leave it out: fewer than half contain any choline, and those that do usually have only about 25 mg.
  • Best sources: eggs, meat, fish, poultry, and dairy. One large egg has about 147 mg.
  • Supplements: no U.S. guideline currently recommends a choline supplement for every pregnant woman. Food comes first; ask your provider if your diet falls short.

What choline does in pregnancy

Every cell in your body and your baby’s needs choline to build its outer membrane. Choline is also used to make acetylcholine, a brain chemical involved in memory, mood, and muscle control, and it’s involved in early brain development, according to the NIH. ACOG lists choline among the nutrients you need during pregnancy for that reason.

Your body makes some choline in the liver, but not enough to cover your needs, so the rest has to come from food.

What the research shows

  • Brain development: Choline is known to be involved in early brain development. Studies of whether extra choline in pregnancy improves a child’s memory or thinking are promising, but most are small or observational, and more research is needed.
  • Neural tube defects: Some studies have linked low choline levels in pregnancy to a higher risk of neural tube defects such as spina bifida, but other research found no link, according to the NIH. Folic acid remains the proven way to lower that risk.
  • Folate connection: Choline and folate share some jobs in the body. When folate is low, your need for choline goes up. That’s one more reason to keep taking folic acid.

How much you need

These daily amounts and upper limits come from the NIH and count choline from food and supplements together.

Stage Daily need Upper limit
Women 19 and older, not pregnant 425 mg 3,500 mg
Teens 14 to 18, not pregnant 400 mg 3,000 mg
Pregnant 450 mg 3,000 mg (ages 14–18); 3,500 mg (19 and older)
Breastfeeding 550 mg 3,000 mg (ages 14–18); 3,500 mg (19 and older)

Choline passes into breast milk, which is one reason the need is highest while breastfeeding.

Most women fall short

In national survey data from 2013–2014, women in the U.S. got about 278 mg of choline a day from food on average, according to the NIH, well under even the non-pregnancy amount. In pregnancy, only about 8% reach the recommended 450 mg. Because the richest sources are animal foods, women who eat little meat, eggs, or dairy may get even less.

Part of the reason is that choline is easy to miss. The FDA doesn’t require food labels to list choline unless it has been added, so you usually can’t check it on a package.

Choline deficiency

Most people get less choline than recommended, but true choline deficiency is very rare in healthy adults who aren’t pregnant, likely because the body makes some of its own, according to the NIH. When it does happen, it can cause muscle damage, liver damage, and fatty liver disease.

There’s no routine blood test for choline in healthy people, so your provider won’t usually check it. Instead, it’s worth knowing who is more likely to run low during pregnancy and breastfeeding:

  • Women who don’t take folic acid
  • Women with low vitamin B12
  • Women with certain common gene variants that affect how the body uses folate and choline
  • Women who eat few eggs, meat, fish, or dairy foods

For most women, the practical step is making sure choline-rich foods are part of regular meals.

How to get enough

Start with food. Eggs are the easiest way to close the gap. A day like this comes close to the 450 mg pregnancy amount, using values from the NIH:

Food Choline (mg)
2 large hard-boiled eggs 294
3 ounces roasted chicken breast 72
1 cup 1% milk 43
½ cup boiled broccoli 31
Total 440

Our guide to choline-rich foods for pregnancy has more options, including plant-based ones. Cook eggs until the yolks and whites are firm while you’re pregnant.

Check your prenatal vitamin. Look for “choline” on the Supplement Facts panel. If it’s there, the amount is probably small. See Prenatal Vitamin Questions, Answered.

Ask before adding a supplement. If you don’t eat eggs or other animal foods, or your provider thinks your diet falls short, a choline supplement may help. Supplements usually contain 10 to 250 mg. Very high intakes, well above the 3,500 mg upper limit, can cause a fishy body odor, vomiting, heavy sweating, and low blood pressure. See Choline Supplements in Pregnancy.

What to do now

  • Count your eggs, meat, fish, and dairy for a typical day, and compare with 450 mg (550 mg if breastfeeding).
  • Check your prenatal vitamin label for choline.
  • If you eat little or no animal food, ask your provider whether you need a choline supplement.
  • Keep taking folic acid; your choline needs rise when folate is low.

Related reading

Sources

Updated October 2026. This article is for general information and is not a substitute for advice from your health care provider.