A study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism has found that vitamin D deficiency in pregnant women, especially during the first trimester, restricts the fetus’ growth in utero. In fact, mothers with less than 0.015 parts per million of vitamin D in their blood in the first 26 weeks of pregnancy delivered babies who weighed 46 grams less than babies born to mothers with adequate levels. Those babies were more likely to fall in the lower 10th percentile for weight, a condition called “small for gestational age.”
The most usual source of vitamin D for people is exposure to sunlight. Especially in the northern hemispheres, it can be difficult to obtain enough vitamin D for good health. Very foods contain the vitamin naturally. Some foods, such as dairy products, are fortified with vitamin D. Vitamin D deficiencies can cause many other problems, including abnormalities in bone metabolism, increased risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and severe asthma in children. Other studies have had inconsistent results in any links between fetal size and maternal vitamin D status.
Dr. Lisa Bodnar, senior author of the study, said in a statement, “our study is an important contribution to the epidemiologic evidence that maternal vitamin D status, especially in early pregnancy, may contribute to both pathological and physiological fetal growth.” The authors would like to see more randomized, peer-reviewed trials studying pregnant women and their babies with supplemented vitamin D levels.
The so called “quack” Mercola has been stating this for years, as wells a multitude of other alternative health sites. I guess it takes a while for the research centers at Amercas corporate funded universities to finally see the truth instead of pumping the skin cancer initiative were supposed to be fearful of.