Now vitamins can be bad for you: "Taking vitamin supplements could increase the risk of pre-eclampsia for pregnant women rather than decrease it as previously thought, new research suggests. The nationwide study said that mothers-to-be who are at risk of the potentially fatal illness should avoid large doses of vitamin C and E. Vitamin-takers are also at risk of having a baby with a low birth weight. Up to 25,000 British women a year are affected by pre-eclampsia, which causes blood pressure to rise to dangerous levels. It is believed that it kills about 10 women and as many as 1,000 babies every year. In 1999 research by Tommy's, the baby charity, suggested that anti-oxidants such as vitamins C and E could counter the problem. But the new study, also by Tommy's and published online by The Lancet medical journal today, found that the reverse appeared to be true."