Pregnant women need vitamin D supplements
Pregnant and breastfeeding women should take vitamin D supplements during the winter months, according to the Department of Health.
The advice comes as a result of healthcare professionals reporting an
increase in vitamin D deficiency among children.
Vitamin D is produced by skin cells after exposure to ultraviolet light
of a specific wavelength — a component of natural sunlight. In
the UK, the level of vitamin D in the body undergoes seasonal variations,
with the annual minimum occurring during the winter.
Throughout this period, the body relies on stores of vitamin D that have
built up during the “sunny” summer months. The problem is
worsened in locations with latitude beyond 52 degrees north (above Birmingham),
where sunlight provides no UV radiation of the necessary wavelength to
allow the skin to synthesise vitamin D during this time.
Dr Colin Michie, a paediatrician at Ealing Hospital,
London, agreed that pregnant and breastfeeding women should take vitamin
D supplements for
the benefit of their children.
“Babies receive vitamin D from their
mothers in the womb and then from breast milk until they are weaned.
If a pregnant or breastfeeding woman is lacking in vitamin D, the baby
will also have low levels of vitamin D and calcium, which can lead to
the baby developing seizures in the first months of life,” he said. |
Hospital
Pharmacist