Is collagen supplementation safe during pregnancy or breastfeeding in South Africa?

What do we actually know?

Hydrolysed collagen is a food-derived protein and is generally well tolerated by healthy adults. The problem is the absence of evidence: the skin, joint and bone trials excluded pregnant and breastfeeding women, so no one has measured benefit or harm in these groups. "Not studied" is different from "shown to be harmful", but it is the reason Collagen Cafe's own Dis-Chem product page advises consulting a doctor before use if pregnant or breastfeeding.

What is the real risk?

The collagen itself is probably the smallest concern. The bigger issues are what is added or hidden:

• Added ingredients. Collagen blends can include vitamin C, magnesium, black-pepper extract (piperine), hyaluronic acid, herbs or "beauty" blends. Some multi-collagen products add other animal proteins or botanicals. In pregnancy, a long ingredient list is harder to assess than a short one.
• Vitamin A. Preformed vitamin A (retinol) in high amounts is a known concern in pregnancy. EFSA's upper limit for women of childbearing age is 3 000 µg a day, and the UK expert committee considered intakes above 1 500 µg inappropriate. A pure collagen powder contains none, but a combined "beauty" product might.
• Sweeteners and flavours. Unflavoured powders avoid this question. Biogen's flavoured Peptan powders, for example, use sucralose.
• Contaminants. We found no published South African heavy-metal test data specific to collagen. Ask the brand for a batch certificate of analysis (see collagen and heavy metals).
• Allergy. Avoid marine collagen with a fish allergy and bovine collagen if you avoid beef.

Is collagen a good use of protein in pregnancy?

No. Collagen is an incomplete protein: it lacks tryptophan and is low in leucine, so it should not replace eggs, dairy, meat, fish, legumes or a whey product that your doctor or dietitian has cleared (is collagen a complete protein). Protein needs rise in pregnancy, which is a reason to focus on food quality first.

If you still want to use it

1. Ask your gynaecologist, midwife or a registered dietitian before starting.
2. Pick a single-ingredient, unflavoured powder with a short label. In South Africa that includes ATP Fitness Hydrolysed Collagen (10 g per scoop, R950 for 910 g, October 2026) or alternatives such as The Harvest Table Bovine Collagen. A trade-off for ATP is that no third-party tests or certificates of analysis are published that we could find, so ask the brand.
3. Start with a small dose (5 g) and stop if you have stomach upset or a reaction.
4. Do not use "beauty" blends with undeclared quantities, and avoid anything labelled with disease or "detox" claims.

Regulation context

Collagen powders are mostly sold as foods or as unregistered complementary products in South Africa. SAHPRA has not registered any complementary medicines yet, and unregistered products carry a statement that they have not been evaluated by SAHPRA. "Not registered" does not mean illegal, but it does mean no regulator has reviewed the safety data for you.

See also which supplements to avoid in pregnancy and collagen side effects.

If you have kidney disease or take regular medication, raise that with your doctor too, and teenagers who are pregnant need individual medical advice.

Products mentioned