Vitamin D in pregnancy.
A study shows that women, who were vitamin D deficient in the first trimester of pregnancy, 14 weeks or less, were twice as likely to have babies in the lower 10th percentile for weight. This is when compared to other full-term babies born in the same week of pregnancy, a condition known as “small for gestational age.”
- “A mother’s vitamin D level early in pregnancy may impact the growth of her baby later in pregnancy,” said lead author Alison Gernand, Ph.D., M.P.H., R.D., post-doctoral associate in Pitt Public Health’s Department of Epidemiology. “
Babies born small for gestational age are at a five to 10 time’s greater risk of early death in their first month. They also have a higher risk of chronic diseases. Later in life, this could include heart conditions, hypertension and type II diabetes.
Infant
Photo credit:
getty images
Early studies demonstrate that:
- Vitamin D deficiency and rickets in developing countries continue to be a major health problem.
- Rickets in infants, attributable to inadequate vitamin D intake and decreased exposure to sunlight continues to be reported in the United States.
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