Irish babies at risk from mothers’ low levels of vitamin D.

Posted in Nutrition, Sunshine, Super Milk, Vitamin D by admin on November 4th, 2009

Pregnant women need be more aware of the vitamin D content of their diet.

Researchers from the Northern Ireland Centre for Food and Health (NICHE) carried out a study on 99 expectant mothers and tested them at three separate times during their pregnancy.

Testing at 12 and 20 weeks of pregnancy revealed that as many as 96% of the women had insufficient level of vitamin D in their blood. Examination also revealed that at these test points, 35% could be classified as vitamin D deficient at 12 weeks and 44% at 20 weeks.

The results, published in the British Journal of Nutrition, also showed that during the third trimester, at 35 weeks, 75% had insufficient levels of vitamin D and 16% of women were deficient.

Dr Julie Wallace said the results clearly show that there is a need to highlight the importance of vitamin D in the diet of the population, and particularly for pregnant women.

Vitamin D is essential for building and maintaining strong bones, and previous studies have reported that low vitamin D levels during pregnancy are linked to lower bone density in children.

In the Ireland, pregnant women are recommended by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) to take 10 micrograms of vitamin D per day.

Reference

Holmes VA, Barnes MS, Alexander HD, McFaul P, Wallace JM. Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency in pregnant women: a longitudinal study.Br J Nutr. 2009 Sep;102(6):876-81.