A study published in the March 2012 issue of Pediatrics, the journal of
the American Association of Pediatrics, has shown again how important
vitamin D3 supplementation is during pregnancy. This study measured the
vitamin D level of pregnant women and then observed language development
in their children at different ages (2, 5, 8, 10, 14, and 17 years of
age).
The study found that women who had a vitamin D level less
than 46 nmol/L during pregnancy were at least twice as likely to have
children with language difficulties at ages 5 and 10 years compared to
women with a vitamin D level of 70 nmol/L or higher.
This finding
is especially interesting because most labs place the normal limit of
serum 25(OH)-vitamin D in the 30 range, rather than the 70 range. Many
vitamin D experts have said that a range of 60 to 100 is ideal, and this
study suggests that at least during pregnancy these higher levels of
vitamin D are ideal. In order to achieve these levels pregnant women
need to take a significantly higher level of vitamin D3 than is found in
most prenatal or calcium supplements. A supplement in the range of
5,000 to 10,000 IU of vitamin D3 daily is usually required to raise
serum vitamin D levels to these levels.
Vitamin D taken during
pregnancy has shown other benefits for later childhood as well. Several
studies have shown that higher vitamin D levels during pregnancy are
associated with less respiratory problems during childhood. A study
published in January 2011 in Pediatrics showed that newborns with a
higher cord blood level of vitamin D
had less respiratory infections during infancy and less asthma during
early childhood. Four previous studies showed that vitamin D
supplementation during pregnancy was associated with less asthma during
childhood as well.
Pregnant women should take a high quality prenatal vitamin/mineral supplement that contains folate. In addition during pregnancy
it is important to take vitamin D, an omega-3 fatty acid supplement
with DHA, and probiotics, all of which have proven to have positive
health benefits for babies.
Whitehouse, AJO, et al. Maternal
Serum Vitamin D Levels During Pregnancy and Offspring Neurocognitive
Development. Pediatrics 2012; 129:3 485-493; published ahead of print
February 13, 2012, doi:10.1542/peds.2011-2644
About the author:
Dr.
Randall Neustaedter, OMD, has practiced and taught holistic medicine
for more than thirty years in the San Francisco Bay area, specializing
in child health care. He is a licensed acupuncturist and doctor of
Chinese medicine, author of The Holistic Baby Guide, Child Health Guide
and The Vaccine Guide. Visit his website, www.cure-guide.com,
to register for a free newsletter with pediatric specialty articles and
follow him on Facebook, at Dr. Randall Neustaedter, OMD.
Thursday, November 5, 2015
Take a vitamin D supplement during pregnancy
About the Author
0 comments:
Post a Comment