Pregnancy Signs & Symptoms, Week by Week Pregnancy Guide

According to researchers at the UCL Institute of Child Health, it is advisable for pregnant women to take Vitamin D supplements.

Deficiency of Vitamin D has been associated with poorer neonatal health as well as pregnancy complications says an article published by the British Journal of Nutrition. A vitamin D supplement is not usually administered to pregnant women because many experts are not convinced about the benefits that come from it.

However, it has been seen that women have higher rates of vitamin D deficiency than do men, also that one in 4 pregnant women is deficient in this vitamin, particularly in the winter months and in spring if there is insufficient sun exposure.

This deficiency is made worse by inadequate Vitamin D from food sources.

In very extreme cases, when a pregnant woman is severely deficient in Vitamin D, this could be life threatening to the baby. It has therefore suggested that a routine prescription of a vitamin D supplement to a pregnant woman would decrease the number of vitamin D deficient mothers, thereby lowering the potential risk to the babies as well.

It has been suggested that a daily dose of 10 micrograms of vitamin D to prevent vitamin D deficiency in pregnant mothers and unborn babies should be prescribed.