Pregnancy health centre

Pregnant women ‘should take vitamin D’

4th July 2010 - Pregnant women should be advised to take vitamin D supplements, say researchers at the UCL Institute of Child Health (ICH).

In an article published online by the British Journal of Nutrition (BJN), the authors say that despite growing evidence linking vitamin D deficiency to pregnancy complications and poor neonatal health, the UK is the only one of 31 European countries that doesn’t have government vitamin D recommendation for women of reproductive age, neither does it endorse a daily supplement to expectant mothers.

The researchers say the risk of vitamin D deficiency is largely being overlooked by health professionals.
The NHS regulator, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) current guidance says:  “There is insufficient evidence to evaluate the effectiveness of vitamin D in pregnancy. In the absence of evidence of benefit, vitamin D supplementation should not be offered routinely to pregnant women.”

The UCL researchers say that in the UK current data shows that women are more likely to be vitamin D deficient than men (9.2% and 6.6% respectively) and one in four pregnant mothers is vitamin D deficient ( below 25nmol/l) during winter and spring, with nearly all (90%) having concentrations considered insufficient (below 50nmol/l).

Lack of sunlight

Dr Elina Hyppönen, reader in epidemiology and public health at the ICH and a co-author says in a news release, “The incidence of vitamin D deficiency in pregnant women in Britain is unacceptably high, especially during winter and spring.  This is compounded by a lack of exposure to sunlight and the limitations of an average diet to meet the optimal need.

“In the most severe cases, maternal vitamin D deficiency can be life threatening to a newborn. We believe that the routine provision of a daily supplement throughout pregnancy would significantly decrease the number of mothers who are clearly vitamin D deficient, reducing related serious risks to their babies.

No clear UK message

Hyppönen says, “Our take on vitamin D supplementation in the UK has seen many changes over the decades and we can see clearly from past experience that a proactive approach to supplementation has coincided with a much lower incidence of deficiency linked diseases such as infantile hypocalcaemia and rickets.”

The UCL team says data supports a daily dose of at least 10 micrograms of vitamin D to prevent vitamin D deficiency in pregnant mothers and unborn babies.

Under a current government scheme, they say, pregnant women who are on a low income are entitled to receive supplements free of charge, but there is no strong evidence to suggest that this group are at greater risk.
The authors write: “What’s needed is a unified approach that will ensure that all expectant mothers, regardless of their economic status, are informed of the benefits of taking a regular supplement throughout pregnancy.”