Nature Made Prenatal Lawsuit: BPA, Phthalates, and Pharmavite’s Response

The Nature Made prenatal lawsuit is a proposed class action filed in April 2025 accusing Pharmavite LLC of selling prenatal multivitamins that contain phthalates and bisphenol A (BPA) while marketing them as safe for pregnant and lactating women. The case, Lang et al. v. Pharmavite LLC, is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. No recall has been issued, and Pharmavite denies the allegations.¹

What the Plaintiffs Claim

Melissa Lang and Mildred Sevy allege that Nature Made’s Prenatal Multivitamin Folic Acid + DHA Softgels are “misleadingly marketed as safe for pregnant and lactating women and their fetuses” while containing or being contaminated with several plastic-derived chemicals.¹ The chemicals identified in the complaint include di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP), diethyl phthalate, dimethyl phthalate, diisobutyl phthalate, dicyclohexyl phthalate, diethylhexyl terephthalate, and BPA.²

The plaintiffs say the findings contradict the label’s promises about supporting “the development of baby’s brain, eyes & nervous system” and the marketing description of the vitamins as “carefully developed.” Their theory of harm is economic. They say they paid a premium for a product they believed to be free of toxic chemicals and would not have bought it, or would have paid less, had they known.¹ The complaint does not specify the numerical concentrations of the chemicals detected in the product.³

Five claims are brought under California law: the Consumers Legal Remedies Act, the Unfair Competition Law, the False Advertising Law, breach of express warranty, and unjust enrichment. The complaint also signals that other Nature Made prenatal products may be added through discovery, describing them as “substantially similar.”¹

Where the Chemical Findings Come From

The complaint leans on testing by PlasticList, an independent research project published in December 2024 by a four-person team that spent about six months and $500,000 examining plastic-related chemicals in common consumer products.⁴ The project tested 296 products for 18 chemicals, including 11 phthalates, four phthalate substitutes, and three bisphenols. Samples were blinded and analyzed at an ISO/IEC 17025-accredited lab using isotope dilution mass spectrometry. Overall, plastic chemicals appeared in 86% of foods tested and phthalates in 73%.⁵

PlasticList itself framed its results as a “snapshot,” not evidence suitable for high-confidence conclusions, policy recommendations, or personal purchasing decisions. The team noted that the presence of a chemical does not by itself indicate a safety problem and that different testing methods can yield different results. Some products were tested only once, all items were blended before analysis (so the source of contamination within a product cannot be identified), and the Ziploc bags used to transport samples were themselves found to contain trace phthalates.⁵

A separate 2025 study published in Environmental Research tested 156 commercially available prenatal vitamins and found DEHP above the limit of quantification in 25% of samples and DBP in 13%, suggesting the issue is not confined to one brand.⁶

Why Phthalates and BPA Matter During Pregnancy

DEHP and DBP are plasticizers classified as endocrine disrupting compounds, meaning they can interfere with hormonal systems. They can also cross the placental barrier, which is why pregnancy exposure draws particular attention.⁷

Research from Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that women with the highest urinary concentrations of DEHP were 60% more likely to experience pregnancy loss before 20 weeks than those with the lowest levels. A separate Harvard study linked high concentrations of another phthalate metabolite to seven-fold higher odds of impaired glucose tolerance during pregnancy.⁸ The complaint cites associations between DEHP and preterm birth, low birth weight, and earlier menopause, and notes that the EPA classifies DEHP as a “probable human carcinogen.”³

The 2025 Environmental Research study also observed that there are currently no federal limits on the amount of phthalates or heavy metals allowed in prenatal vitamins in the United States.⁶

What Pharmavite Says

Pharmavite has not issued a recall. In a statement posted on the Nature Made website, the company said its prenatal vitamins are “safe when taken as directed, efficacious and of the highest quality,” and stated that “any reports or content stating otherwise are false.”⁹

The company says it monitors its facilities, equipment, and materials to keep them “free of unwanted substances”; that its ingredients are certified food grade and comply with FDA regulations and California’s Proposition 65; and that every bottle undergoes “several hundred individual checks, inspections and tests.” Pharmavite also points to third-party verification from the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) across its product line.⁹

The Regulatory Gap

Part of what makes this a private class action rather than an agency enforcement matter is that federal rules do not set phthalate limits for finished dietary supplements. Under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994, supplements are regulated as food products and their formulations do not require premarket approval from the FDA.¹⁰ The FDA revoked authorization for 23 phthalates in food contact materials in 2022, but its rules address packaging rather than finished supplement products. Eight phthalates remain authorized as plasticizers in food packaging while the agency continues to gather data.¹¹

California’s Proposition 65 lists both DEHP and DBP as chemicals known to cause reproductive harm and sets a maximum allowable dose level of 410 micrograms per day for DEHP related to reproductive toxicity.⁷ The European Food Safety Authority has set a group tolerable daily intake of 50 micrograms per kilogram of body weight per day for DBP, DEHP, and two related phthalates combined.¹² There is no equivalent enforceable limit for phthalate content in a U.S. prenatal vitamin.

Where the Case Stands

The complaint was filed on April 18, 2025. As of the most recent available information, no motions to dismiss, class certification rulings, or settlement discussions have been reported.³ The proposed class has not been certified, so there is nothing consumers need to file at this stage. If certification is granted later, notice would typically go to affected purchasers with instructions on how to participate or opt out.

Because the product remains on the market and Pharmavite disputes the claims, decisions about continuing to take a specific prenatal vitamin are appropriately discussed with your obstetric provider rather than treated as settled by the lawsuit.

1
ClassAction.org. Lang et al. v. Pharmavite LLC, Case No. 3:25-cv-00933-AGS-JLB
2
Top Class Actions. Class Action Lawsuit Alleges Nature Made Prenatal Vitamins Contain Toxic Plastic Chemicals
3
ClassAction.org. Toxic Chemicals Detected in Certain Nature Made Prenatal Multivitamins, Class Action Lawsuit Alleges
4
PlasticList. PlasticList Report
5
PlasticList. PlasticList Methodology
6
ScienceDirect. Prenatal Vitamins Phthalates and Heavy Metals Study
7
California OEHHA. Di-n-Butyl Phthalate (DBP) Fact Sheet
8
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Phthalates Exposure, Pregnancy Loss, Gestational Diabetes
9
Nature Made. Nature Made Prenatal Vitamins Are Safe, Efficacious and High Quality
10
National Library of Medicine. Phthalates in Medications and Dietary Supplement Capsules
11
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FDA Limits Use of Certain Phthalates in Food Packaging
12
European Food Safety Authority. Phthalates in Plastic Food Contact Materials Draft Opinion