Avoidance of vitamin D deficiency in pregnancy in the United Kingdom: the case for a unified approach in National policy.

r J Nutr. 2010 Jul 2:1-6.
Hyppönen E, Boucher BJ.
MRC Centre of Epidemiology for Child Health, UCL Institute of Child Health and Centre for Paediatric Epidemiology and biostatistics, 30 Guilford Street, London WC1N 1EH, UK.

Prevalence of hypovitaminosis D in Western populations is high; pregnant women are identified as a high-risk group, especially if dark skinned.

Consequences of severe clinical vitamin D deficiency in pregnancy can be life threatening to the newborn, while lesser degrees of hypovitaminosis D may have important long-term implications for offspring health.

Past experiences with routine provision of 10 mug/d (400 IU/d) to all pregnant mothers suggest that this dose is sufficient to prevent overt neonatal complications of vitamin D deficiency.

Recent data suggest that supplementation with dosages above 10 mug/d may be required for optimal health in the mother and child; however, further research is required for the assessment of the benefits and safety of supplementation with higher dosages. Lack of unified advice on vitamin D supplementation of pregnant mothers in the UK hinders the implementation of primary prevention strategies and is likely to leave some deficient mothers without supplementation. PMID: 20594390