Vitamine D

Pregnancy and lactation represent time periods where health status affects two persons instead of one. If a woman’s’ reserves are small she might have health damage because of what her child needs or there may even be not enough to support the child’s healthy growth and development. Vitamin D appears to be a requisite for far more than just the growth of a stable skeleton, but also has a function in the immune system, glucose tolerance, and cell proliferation. In addition, evidence points to a critical role for vitamin D in sustaining pregnancy and avoiding pregnancy-related diseases. Vitamin D deficiency is also linked to postpartum depression. A pregnant mother with a sub-standard or low vitamin D status will have insufficient vitamin D storage to supply het infant with sufficient vitamin D with her milk. Wagner and Hollis studied in different research groups (Bendich et al 2010, Jonhson et al 2010) the vitamin D status in various ethnic groups in the USA and the effects on maternal and infant health during pregnancy and lactation and they found that the majority of American women were vitamin D deficient. This can probably be extrapolated to women in other Western societies.

Bendich A, Holick MF, Michael F, Taylor SN, Wagner CL, Carol L. Hollis BW: Vitamin D Deficiency in Pregnancy and Lactation and Health Consequences. Nutrition and Health, 2010, Part 4, 615-631

Johnson DD, Wagner CL, Hulsey TC, McNeil RB, Ebeling M, Hollis BW: Vitamin D Deficiency and Insufficiency is Common during Pregnancy. Am J Perinatol. 2010 Jul 16. [Epub ahead of print]

Murphy PK, Mueller M, Hulsey TC, Ebeling MD, Carol L. Wagner CL: An Exploratory Study of Postpartum Depression and Vitamin D. Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association May/June 2010 16: 170-177