Many pregnant women are deficient when taking the recommended amount of Vitamin D

Created January 2023

Longitudinal Assessment of Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Levels during Pregnancy and Postpartum—Are the Current Recommendations for Supplementation Sufficient?

Nutrients 2023, 15, 339. https:// doi.org/10.3390/nu15020339

Pilar Palmrich h*, Alexandra Thajer 2 , Nawa Schirwani 1 , Christina Haberl 1 , Harald Zeisler 1 , Robin Ristl 3 and Julia Binder1©

  • Department of Obstetrics and Feto-Maternal Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria

  • Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Pediatric Intensive Care Medicine

  • Neuropediatrics, Comprehensive Center for Pediatrics, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria

  • Center for Medical Statistics, Informatics and Intelligent Systems, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria

    • Correspondence: pilar.palmrich@meduniwien.ac.at

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HDP (hypertensive disorders of pregnancy),

GDM (gestational diabetes mellitus),

IGDM (insulin-dependentgestational diabetes mellitus),

PROM (preterm rupture of membranes),

NICU (neonatal intensive care unit),

RDS (respiratory distress syndrome),

SGA (small for gestational age)

Background: Pregnant women are at risk of vitamin D deficiency. Data on pregnancy outcomes in women with vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy are controversial, and prospective longitudinal data on vitamin D deficiency with consistent definitions in pregnant women are scarce.

Methods: The aim of this prospective longitudinal cohort study was to investigate 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels over the course of pregnancy and postpartum in singleton and twin pregnancies with regard to dietary and supplemental vitamin D intake and environmental factors influencing vitamin D levels, evaluated by a standardized food frequency questionnaire.

Results: We included 198 healthy singleton and 51 twin pregnancies for analysis. A total of 967 study visits were performed over a 3-year period.

Overall,

  • 59.5% of pregnant women were classified as vitamin D deficient in the first trimester,

  • 54.8% in the second trimester,

  • 58.5% in the third trimester,

  • 66.9% at birth, and

  • 60% 12 weeks postpartum,

even though 66.4% of the study population reported daily pregnancy vitamin intake containing vitamin D. Dietary vitamin D intake did not affect vitamin D levels significantly.

Conclusions: The majority of pregnant women evaluated in this study were vitamin D deficient, despite administration of pregnancy vitamins containing vitamin D. Individualized vitamin D assessment during pregnancy should be considered to ensure adequate supplementation and prevention of hypovitaminosis D.

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This study considers <20 ng to be deficient. Everyone should have 40 ng. including before, during, and after pregnancy

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Tags: Pregnancy