120000 IU vitamin D twice during pregnancy helped some – Jan 2012

Effect of vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy on neonatal mineral homeostasis and anthropometry of the newborn and infant.

Br J Nutr. 2012 Jan 3:1-7.
Kalra P, Das V, Agarwal A, Kumar M, Ramesh V, Bhatia E, Gupta S, Singh S, Saxena P, Bhatia V.
Department of Endocrinology, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow 226 014, India.

Hypovitaminosis D is common in India. In the present prospective partially randomised study of vitamin D (D3) supplementation during pregnancy, subjects were randomised in the second trimester to receive either one oral dose of 1500 ?g vitamin D3 (group 1, n 48) or two doses of 3000 ?g vitamin D3 each in the second and third trimesters (group 2, n 49). Maternal 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) at term, cord blood (CB) alkaline phosphatase (ALP), neonatal serum Ca and anthropometry were measured in these subjects and in forty-three non-supplemented mother-infant pairs (usual care).

Median maternal 25(OH)D at term was higher in group 2 (58·7, interquartile range (IQR) 38·4-89·4 nmol/l) v. group 1 (26·2, IQR 17·7-57·7 nmol/l) and usual-care group (39·2, IQR 21·2-73·4 nmol/l) (P = 0·000). CB ALP was increased (>8.02 ?kat/l or >480 IU/l) in 66·7 % of the usual-care group v. 41·9 % of group 1 and 38·9 % of group 2 (P = 0·03). Neonatal Ca and CB 25(OH)D did not differ significantly in the three groups.

Birth weight, length and head circumference were greater
and the anterior fontanelle was smaller in groups 1 and 2 (3·08 and 3·03 kg, 50·3 and 50·1 cm, 34·5 and 34·4 cm, 2·6 and 2·5 cm, respectively) v. usual care (2·77 kg, 49·4, 33·6, 3·3 cm; P = 0·000 for length, head circumference and fontanelle and P = 0·003 for weight).
These differences were still evident at 9 months.

We conclude that both 1500 ?g and two doses of 3000 ?g vitamin D3 had a beneficial effect on infant anthropometry, the larger dose also improving CB ALP and maternal 25(OH)D.

PMID: 22212646
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Group 1: 60,000 IU of vitamin D in 2nd Maternal at birth = 10.5 ng (very low)
Group 2: 120,000 IU of vitamin D in 2nd and 3rd: Maternal at birth = 23.5 ng (fairly low)

Comment by VitaminDwiki
120,000 IU averaged over 90 days = 1300 IU daily = not much
Others have reported that >6,000 IU is needed daily during pregnancy
Also, there could be a problem with having 3 months between supplements
A 50,000 IU capsule of vitamin D taken weekly with co-factors appears to be appropriate

See also VitaminDWiki

Pregnancy category starts with

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• Healthy pregnancies need lots of vitamin D
• Ensure a healthy pregnancy and baby - take Vitamin D before conception
  

Healthy pregnancies need lots of vitamin D has the following summary
Most were taking 2,000 to 7,000 IU daily for >50% of pregnancy
   Click on hyperlinks for details

Problem	Vit. D Reduces	Evidence
0. Chance of not conceiving	3.4 times	Observe
1. Miscarriage	2.5 times	Observe
2. Pre-eclampsia	3.6 times	RCT
3. Gestational Diabetes	3 times	RCT
4. Good 2nd trimester sleep quality	3.5 times	Observe
5. Premature birth	2 times	RCT
6. C-section - unplanned	1.6 times	Observe
Stillbirth - OMEGA-3	4 times	RCT - Omega-3
7. Depression AFTER pregnancy	1.4 times	RCT
8. Small for Gestational Age	1.6 times	meta-analysis
9. Infant height, weight, head size      within normal limits		RCT
10. Childhood Wheezing	1.3 times	RCT
11. Additional child is Autistic	4 times	Intervention
12.Young adult Multiple Sclerosis	1.9 times	Observe
13. Preeclampsia in young adult	3.5 times	RCT
14. Good motor skills @ age 3	1.4 times	Observe
15. Childhood Mite allergy	5 times	RCT
16. Childhood Respiratory Tract visits	2.5 times	RCT

RCT = Randomized Controlled Trial