Is Vitamin D Helpful During Pregnancy?

Check out this answer from Consensus:

Vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy appears to be beneficial in reducing the risk of gestational diabetes and improving maternal and neonatal vitamin D levels. However, its effects on pre-eclampsia, preterm birth, and low birthweight are less clear and require further research. Overall, vitamin D supplementation up to 4000 IU/day is safe for pregnant women. Further high-quality randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm these findings and establish clear guidelines for vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy.

Vitamin D is essential for various bodily functions, including bone health and immune function. During pregnancy, adequate vitamin D levels are crucial for both maternal and fetal health. This synthesis examines the effects of vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy on maternal and neonatal outcomes.

Key Insights

• Reduction in Gestational Diabetes Risk:
  • Supplementing pregnant women with vitamin D may reduce the risk of gestational diabetes1 4.
• Impact on Pre-eclampsia:
  • The effect of vitamin D supplementation on reducing the risk of pre-eclampsia is inconsistent. Some studies suggest a potential reduction, while others find little to no effect1 3 4 6.
• Preterm Birth and Low Birthweight:
  • Vitamin D supplementation may reduce the risk of preterm birth and low birthweight, although the evidence is mixed and often of low certainty1 4 6.
• Maternal and Neonatal Vitamin D Levels:
  • Vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy significantly increases maternal and neonatal 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels at term3 7 10.
• Safety of Supplementation:
  • Vitamin D supplementation up to 4000 IU/day is generally considered safe during pregnancy, with no significant adverse effects reported1 4 10.
• Other Maternal Outcomes:
  • There is limited and inconsistent evidence on the effects of vitamin D supplementation on other maternal outcomes such as gestational hypertension, cesarean section rates, and maternal death3 4 7.
• Neonatal Outcomes:
  • Some studies suggest that vitamin D supplementation may increase birth length and head circumference, but the clinical significance of these findings is unclear4 7.

Is Vitamin D helpful during Pregnancy?

Ramune Jacobsen has answered Likely

An expert from University of Copenhagen in Pharmacology, Public Health

Lately, there was a lot of interest in vitamin D programming effects, that is if optimal levels of vitamin D in pregnant women (and therefore in the fetus) can help preventing different diseases (for example, autoimmune, metabolic, cancers etc). Not everything is clear yet, but evidence is pretty convincing with respect to skeletal health, and, interestingly, mental health. That is optimal levels of vitamin D during pregnancy (and thus during gestation) helps optimal development of bones and brain of the fetus, and prevents skeletal and mental diseases in the new born children later in their life.

Is Vitamin D helpful during Pregnancy?

Jesse Goff has answered Likely

An expert from Iowa State University in Nutrition

Certainly, vitamin D deficiency has long been known to cause bone disease in the fetus, newborn and mother. Maxwell described cases involving Asian women who never went out into the sun and subsisted on rice and fish soups who gave birth to children with the bone disease called rickets. (Maxwell JP. Further studies in adult rickets (osteomalacia) and fetal rickets. Proc Roy Soc Med 1935; 28: 265–300.) More commonly rickets develops in children several months old due to malnutrition. A second factor, independent of bone health, is the effect vitamin D may have on immune competence and non-bone cell function. This is believed by many to require a higher level of vitamin D than bone health. In 2011, the US Institute of Medicine’s ” Dietary reference intakes for calcium and vitamin D” .suggested blood levels of the vitamin D metabolite 25-hydroxyvitamin D above 20 ng/ml (50nmol/L) signified adequate supplementation for the general population. That group suggests 600 IU vitamin D / day is adequate in adults including pregnant women, based primarily on bone health. However, a growing body of evidence suggests 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration in blood needs to be 30 ng/ml (75 nmol/L) to fully support all functions of vitamin D as well as to support optimal calcium and phosphorus metabolism. To achieve these levels during pregnancy, the intake of vitamin D may need to be 2000 -4000 IU vitamin D / day (Hollis, et al. “Vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy: double-blind, randomized clinical trial of safety and effectiveness.” Journal of bone and mineral research 26,10 (2011): 2341-57). There are no reports of problems (toxicity) with up to 10,000 IU vitamin D/day. The maximal tolerable limit was set at 4000 IU /day (2011 Institute of Medicine Report). Taking high vitamin D with a calcium supplement can increase formation of renal stones in people predisposed to urinary calculi. Vitamin D3 is preferred over vitamin D2 supplementation.

A high proportion of the US population that does not take any vitamin D supplement is vitamin D insufficient (< 20 ng/ml 25-OH vitamin D). Few foods contain vitamin D naturally and sunscreen and indoor living reduce our ability to utilize sunshine to make our own vitamin D in our skin. Unless you are at risk of renal stones, 2000 IU / day during pregnancy would be safe and go a long way toward ensuring you are vitamin D sufficient using the 30 ng/ml 25-OH vitamin D standard. This is the current recommendation in Canada. Sunlight was the likely source of vitamin D for humans throughout evolution. Luxwolda et al., Eur. J Nutr 2013, found pregnant women living a nomadic hunter/gatherer life style with lots of sun exposure in east Africa had serum 25-OH vitamin D concentrations that averaged 140 nmol/L or about 56 ng/ml, well above the levels described as adequate for pregnant women in the USA.

Is Vitamin D helpful during Pregnancy?

Darryl Eyles has answered Likely

An expert from University of Queensland in Neurobiology, Mental Health, Vitamins

Its certainly recommended for healthy bone growth in the foetus and there is solid evidence for that in animal studies and in in avoiding developmental bone abnormalities in children i.e. ricketts.

In terms of the developing brain we have added the active vitamin D hormone to normally developing rats and mice and have shown effects on systems governing dopamine neuron development.

Vitamin D supplementation at very low levels (400IU) is currently indicated in pregnancy. In a mother with sufficient levels of vitamin D, supplementation is unlikely to have any effect unless given at extreme doses then it may adversely affect bone and calcium outcomes.