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Vitamin D deficiency may contribute to pregnancy complications

Category: Vitamin D Deficiency-Diagnosis and Treatment

Women who have recently become pregnant may want to consider vitamin D testing, as a new study has found that a deficiency of the vitamin may lead to serious complications during pregnancy that may impact delivery.

Researchers from the Medical University of South Carolina found that the majority of women who experience preeclampsia - a condition in which the mother's blood pressure becomes severely elevated during the pregnancy - have a vitamin D deficiency.

Christopher Robinson, who led the study, told Reuters Health that vitamin D - which is actually a hormone - plays a role in regulating protein in the placenta and that a deficiency of the nutrient may impair its function. Most doctors believe that placental problems are a contributing factor to preeclampsia.

Due to disagreements in the medical community over safe dosing levels of vitamin D, particularly during pregnancy, Robinson did not recommend that pregnant women take higher levels of the vitamin. Instead, he told the news source that women should simply take standard multivitamins recommended by doctors.