News Release
Babies At Risk From Mothers’ Vitamin D Deficiency
Pregnant women need to pay closer attention to the vitamin D levels in their diet, University of Ulster researchers have discovered.
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 latest edition of the British Journal of Nutrition, also showed that during the third trimester, at 35 weeks, 75% had insufficient levels of the vitamin and 16% of women were deficient.
Dr Julie Wallace, from the University’s Biomedical Sciences Research Institute, said: "The results from our research clearly show there is a need to highlight the importance of vitamin D in the diet for the population in general and particularly for pregnant woman.
"We speculate, but this remains to be proven, there may well be implications of low vitamin D status during pregnancy for the development of the child. 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."
Vitamin D is essential to maintain bone health and severe cases of vitamin D deficiency could result in children suffering from rickets.
In the UK, pregnant women are recommended by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to take supplements with a daily dose of 10 micrograms vitamin D.
Dr Wallace said: "Vitamin D insufficiency was still evident among women in the study who reported taking supplements. Therefore, it appears dietary supplements formulated for pregnant women may contain levels of vitamin D which are too low to maintain or improve status.
"Supplements may be particularly important for women pregnant during winter time when we rely on dietary vitamin D to maintain blood levels, as the sun is not strong enough to allow vitamin D production. However, pregnant women should initially consult with their GP or midwife if they are concerned about their nutrition"
The main source of the vitamin is synthesis following exposure to sunlight; much smaller amounts are present in the diet, in foods such as oily fish, eggs, and in fortified foods including margarine and breakfast cereals.
The University of Ulster research was carried out in collaboration with QUB and Belfast City Hospital, and is the first of its kind measuring the vitamin D status of pregnant women in Northern Ireland.
For further information, please contact:
Trina Porter
Telephone: 028 71675511
Email: Trina Porter
