Overview Pregnancy and vitamin D

• The benefits to mom start about 2,000 IU daily average (2000 IU costs less than $15 per year)
• Substantial benefits proven for 4,000 IU taken during pregnancy (fewer complications, lower cost)
• Best benefits at 6,000 IU - this much is also needed if breast feeding without supplementing the infant
• Taking > 2,000 IU raises the cost, primarily due to cost of Cofactors.

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Summary of Pregnancy page by Chat-GPT as of Feb 28, 2025

Vitamin D plays a critical role in pregnancy and fetal development. The VitaminDWiki page provides a comprehensive overview of how adequate vitamin D before, during, and after pregnancy benefits both mother and child. It compiles research findings, dosage recommendations, and outcomes related to vitamin D status in pregnancy. Overall, higher vitamin D intake is associated with better pregnancy outcomes (fewer complications) and improved infant health, while vitamin D deficiency in pregnant women is widespread and linked to various risks.

Optimal Vitamin D Intake During Pregnancy
A higher daily vitamin D dose is recommended for expecting mothers than standard prenatal guidelines typically suggest. Key recommendations from the page include:

• 2,000 IU/day – Considered a baseline intake that begins to provide benefits for the mother. This amount is very affordable (estimated at under $15 per year).
• 4,000 IU/day – Demonstrated in studies to yield substantial benefits during pregnancy, including fewer complications for the mother. This dose has been proven safe and more effective than lower doses in improving outcomes.
• 6,000 IU/day – Identified as an optimal level for maximizing health benefits for both mother and baby. Importantly, ~6,000 IU daily is needed for breastfeeding mothers to ensure their breast milk contains enough vitamin D for the infant (if the baby isn’t receiving vitamin D drops separately).

These suggested intake levels greatly exceed many current official recommendations but are supported by research on pregnancy outcomes. The page notes that taking above ~2,000 IU/day may slightly increase costs (mainly due to adding cofactors—other nutrients that support vitamin D’s effects). It advises that women using higher doses ensure they get those cofactors (e.g. magnesium, vitamin K₂, etc.) and not too much calcium (keep supplemental calcium < 750 mg/day) for optimal balance. It’s also suggested to test vitamin D blood levels in high-risk pregnant women about 6 weeks after starting supplementation to confirm they’ve reached adequate levels.

Health Benefits for Mothers
Adequate vitamin D during pregnancy has been linked to a wide range of maternal health benefits. The page highlights research showing that mothers with higher vitamin D levels or supplementation have:

• Reduced risk of pregnancy complications: Higher vitamin D is associated with significantly lower rates of preeclampsia (high blood pressure in pregnancy) and gestational diabetes. For example, women taking around 4,000 IU daily had far lower odds of developing preeclampsia, and vitamin D supplementation has been shown to cut gestational diabetes incidence by roughly 30–60% in multiple studies. Sufficient vitamin D also correlates with fewer infections during pregnancy (such as bacterial vaginosis) and better immune function.
• Lower chance of cesarean section: Vitamin D sufficiency appears to reduce the likelihood of needing a C-section. One summary on the page noted that women with higher vitamin D had about 4 times fewer unplanned Cesarean deliveries compared to those with low levels.
• Improved fertility and lower miscarriage risk: The overview cites evidence that adequate vitamin D helps with conception and maintaining pregnancy. Women with good vitamin D status were less likely to experience infertility issues or early miscarriages (one observational finding was a 2.5-fold reduction in miscarriage rates with higher vitamin D).
• Better maternal health and wellness: Sufficient vitamin D supports the mother’s overall health. It contributes to stronger bones for the mother (preventing the loss of bone density during pregnancy), and even dental health appears better – one study listed found women taking ~2,000 IU had half the dental problems during pregnancy. Some evidence suggests vitamin D may improve sleep quality in the second trimester and reduce the risk of postpartum depression. In one trial, women given vitamin D had about a 40% lower rate of postnatal depression.

Health Benefits for Infants and Children
Getting enough vitamin D during pregnancy doesn’t just benefit the mother – it has lasting impacts on the baby’s health as well. The VitaminDWiki page outlines numerous benefits for infants and children when the mother’s vitamin D status is high:

• Higher birth weight and full-term births: Mothers with ample vitamin D are less likely to have preterm or low-birth-weight babies. Studies in the review showed that sufficient vitamin D intake (e.g. 2,000 IU in a trial in India) led to fewer premature births, higher newborn weights, and even better APGAR scores at birth. Conversely, low maternal vitamin D was linked to a higher chance of preterm labor. (One cited study found that having vitamin D < 20 ng/mL made preterm delivery about 3 times more likely, and another noted a 7-fold higher risk of low-birth-weight babies when the mother was very deficient.) Ensuring adequate vitamin D through pregnancy appears to support carrying to term and delivering a healthier-weight infant.
• Lower risk of childhood illnesses: Maternal vitamin D sufficiency has been associated with reduced risks of various childhood conditions. For example, taking around 4,400 IU/day during pregnancy was found to cut the risk of asthma or wheezing in the child by about 50%. Adequate prenatal vitamin D also resulted in fewer childhood respiratory infections and ear infections, as vitamin D supports the developing immune system. There is evidence that children born to vitamin D–replete mothers have a lower chance of developing allergies (one trial showed a 5-fold reduction in dust-mite allergy in kids when moms supplemented). Additionally, infants whose mothers had high vitamin D had a much lower incidence of infantile rickets and better bone development.
• Neurodevelopment and long-term outcomes: The vitamin D status of the mother can influence the child’s brain development and long-term health. Research summarized on the page found that children of mothers with higher vitamin D scored better on tests of language and motor skill development in early childhood. For instance, one study noted 2× fewer language delays by age 5 when moms took adequate vitamin D. There are also indications that sufficient prenatal vitamin D might reduce the risk of autism in the child (especially in families with a history) – one intervention reported a 4-fold reduction in autism in subsequent siblings when high-dose vitamin D was given to pregnant mothers and infants. Moreover, an intriguing association is noted between maternal vitamin D and the child’s risk for multiple sclerosis or other autoimmune diseases decades later. Ensuring the mother has healthy vitamin D levels during pregnancy could impart long-term protective effects for the offspring.

Scientific Studies and Evidence
The webpage backs up these benefits with a large collection of scientific studies, including randomized controlled trials (RCTs), observational studies, and meta-analyses. In total, dozens of studies are referenced, and their findings converge on the conclusion that vitamin D is crucial for a healthy pregnancy. Some notable research highlights include:

• Safe and effective high-dose trials: Multiple RCTs led by vitamin D researchers (such as Dr. Bruce Hollis and Dr. Carol Wagner) have tested daily doses like 4,000 IU and even higher, finding significant benefits with no safety issues. A landmark trial showed that 4,000 IU/day for pregnant women was safe and more effective than 400 IU or 2,000 IU in achieving sufficient blood levels and improving outcomes. Follow-up studies and others in different populations (including a 2023 Mongolian RCT) have consistently reported that ~4,000 IU daily optimizes maternal and neonatal vitamin D status and reduces complications. A 2020 study demonstrated that 6,400 IU/day postpartum (for breastfeeding mothers) safely raised both mom and baby’s vitamin D. These high-dose regimens have not shown adverse effects and are increasingly considered both safe and necessary to reach target vitamin D levels (usually around 40–50 ng/mL) for health.
• Reduced preterm birth and complications: An important 2017 trial (GrassrootsHealth cohort analysis) found that raising pregnant women’s vitamin D levels was associated with dramatically lower preterm birth rates – up to 50-70% reduction in preterm births for women who achieved around 40 ng/mL vs those around 20 ng/mL. Similarly, a 2018 randomized trial reported a 7-fold drop in preeclampsia rates in the high-dose vitamin D group (~4,000 IU/day) compared to controls. Many other intervention studies summarized on the page echo these findings: vitamin D supplementation tends to lower the incidence of preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and infections. Even recurrence of preeclampsia in high-risk women was cut in half in a trial using 50,000 IU every two weeks. In contrast, trials using low doses (like 800 IU/day or 1,000 IU/day) often showed minimal improvement, underlining that dose matters – effective results often require several thousand IU daily.
• Infant and childhood health trials: Research extending to infants after birth supports maternal vitamin D supplementation benefits. For example, one RCT (published in 2016) gave pregnant women 5,000 IU/day and their newborns 1,000 IU/day, and observed a fourfold reduction in autism in later offspring of families at risk. Other trials indicated that infants whose mothers took high vitamin D or who were given vitamin D supplements themselves had stronger immunity (fewer wheezing illnesses) and needed fewer antibiotics in their first year. On the other hand, infants who received only the standard 400 IU had relatively modest increases in blood levels, whereas higher doses led to optimal vitamin D status (one study showed infants needed around 1,600 IU daily to achieve healthy levels).
• Meta-analyses and reviews: The page references systematic reviews that compile data from many studies. A 2012 meta-analysis cited found that low maternal vitamin D was significantly associated with various problems, including a 60% higher risk of having a low-birth-weight baby. Reviews in 2013 concluded that about 4,000 IU daily is an optimal and safe dose in pregnancy, and highlighted that many groups of pregnant women (such as those with darker skin, living in northern latitudes, or with limited sun exposure) are at particularly high risk for deficiency. The consensus emerging from the scientific literature is that current standard prenatal vitamin D recommendations (often just 400–600 IU) are far too low to achieve the blood levels needed for these health benefits.

The breadth of studies compiled on the page shows consistent trends: Vitamin D sufficiency leads to healthier pregnancies and babies. Many of the positive findings (fewer preterm births, less asthma in children, etc.) were observed specifically when mothers attained serum 25(OH)D levels around 40–50 ng/mL, which typically requires supplementation in the thousands of IU. In contrast, vitamin D inadequacy is common and associated with poorer outcomes.
Vitamin D Deficiency in Pregnancy
One of the striking points made is how widespread vitamin D deficiency is among pregnant women worldwide, even in sunny regions. Several studies are mentioned that illustrate this problem:

• In a study of pregnant women in South Carolina (32°N latitude, a sun-rich environment), 48% of women were outright deficient (<20 ng/mL) and an additional 37% had insufficient levels (<32 ng/mL) at their first prenatal visit. African American women had the lowest levels – in that study, 94% of Black mothers had insufficient vitamin D. This highlights that lifestyle, skin pigmentation, and other factors can lead to deficiency even where sunlight is abundant.
• In the United States, overall vitamin D status in women of childbearing age is poor. CDC data (from around 2010) showed roughly 1 in 3 American women have levels below 20 ng/mL. The prevalence is even higher in certain groups: among women with less than a high school education it was ~55%, and among Black women it was about 78% who were below 20 ng/mL. This deficiency epidemic contributes to racial and socio-economic disparities in pregnancy outcomes (for example, the page notes the higher preterm birth rate in U.S. Black women – about 17% vs 11% in white women – which could be partly linked to lower vitamin D).
• Deficiency is extremely common in regions with less sun or cultural practices of covering skin. Cited figures include 80% of South Asian women in the UK having vitamin D levels under 10 ng/mL in winter, and around 90% of pregnant women in India (and their newborn infants) under 20 ng/mL. In some developing countries, severe deficiencies (<5 ng/mL) are seen in children. Such low levels contribute to health problems like rickets in infants and osteomalacia in mothers.
• The page also mentions that in 62 out of 65 countries analyzed, preterm birth rates have been rising, and it implies vitamin D deficiency may be a contributing factor. For instance, one note suggests that in very hot climates with high UV (like parts of the US South or Middle East), people stay indoors (often in air conditioning) to avoid the heat, but this also means they avoid sun exposure and can become deficient despite the sunlight available. This could paradoxically lead to higher rates of preterm birth in those high-UV regions due to low vitamin D.

These findings collectively raise concern that current nutritional guidelines are not preventing deficiency in pregnant women. The page essentially argues that improving vitamin D status on a population level could reduce many of these adverse outcomes and should be a public health priority.
Vitamin D Supplementation for Infants
Another aspect the webpage covers is vitamin D in infants – both how much infants need and how maternal vitamin D impacts the baby after birth. Key points include:

• Standard infant recommendations: In the US, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends 400 IU/day of vitamin D for infants (particularly breastfed infants, since breast milk normally contains little vitamin D unless the mother supplements heavily). Many infants, however, do not even receive this amount. The page notes fewer than 40% of infants actually get the advised 400 IU. In fact, a 2010 study found many children did not even get 200 IU per day from all sources, and essentially no children in that cohort exceeded 480 IU/day intake. This indicates poor adherence and possibly the need for alternative strategies to ensure infants get enough vitamin D.
• Higher needs for infants: Emerging research suggests 400 IU might be too low for optimal infant health. A 2013 JAMA randomized trial found that infants may require around 1,600 IU daily to achieve vitamin D blood levels in the desired range. Other countries sometimes recommend more than 400 IU; for example, Poland has recommended about 100 IU of vitamin D per kilogram of body weight for infants (so a 5 kg baby would get 500 IU). France’s pediatric society even suggested that breastfed infants receive 1,000–1,200 IU/day. These higher infant doses have been used and were well-tolerated, resulting in better vitamin D status (some German infants given 250 IU/day reached robust levels around 56 ng/mL, and those given 500 IU/day reached ~60 ng/mL without issues). Importantly, one long-term Finnish study showed that infants supplemented with 2,000 IU/day not only grew to normal height but also had a dramatically lower incidence of type 1 diabetes as they got older, with no adverse effects – highlighting potential lifelong benefits of higher vitamin D in infancy.
• Maternal vs infant supplementation: There are two ways to ensure an infant gets enough vitamin D – either give the infant drops directly or have the breastfeeding mother take a high enough dose that her milk is enriched with vitamin D. Research supports the latter approach: if a lactating mother takes about 6,000 IU/day, her breast milk will contain ample vitamin D to meet the baby’s needs (equivalent to the baby getting 400–800 IU or more just from nursing). This was demonstrated in an RCT where 6,400 IU to mothers was as effective as giving 300 IU to the baby directly. This approach can be easier for families (avoiding the need for infant drops) but it relies on the mother’s compliance with a higher dose. The page does caution against certain practices like extremely infrequent large dosing for infants; one study tried giving infants 50,000 IU every two months (which averages ~833 IU/day) and noted that such a long interval between doses is not ideal for maintaining steady levels. Regular daily dosing (for infant or mother) is preferable.
• Preventing rickets and bone issues: Ensuring infants get enough vitamin D is critical to prevent rickets, a disease of bone weakening. The category “Rickets/Battered Child/Weak bones” is mentioned, pointing out that infants with severe vitamin D deficiency can present with bone fractures that mimic signs of child abuse. In fact, some cases of suspected abuse have turned out to be undiagnosed rickets. Proper vitamin D supplementation of infants (or high-dose supplementation of the mother while breastfeeding) can prevent rickets entirely. Historically, some countries provided very high doses to infants to curb rickets – the page notes Finland once recommended a dose about 20× higher than the current US standard (likely an older practice of a few thousand IU daily) to ensure babies had enough. While that level is no longer used, it underlines the safety margin of vitamin D in infants when monitored, and that the pendulum has perhaps swung too far to low dosing in recent decades.

Global Guidelines and Calls to Action
The overview also touches on how different health organizations and countries handle vitamin D in pregnancy, often highlighting a mismatch between research findings and official recommendations:

• In the UK, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists as of 2012 was still recommending only 400 IU/day for pregnant women – a level the page calls “amazingly low” given the evidence for higher doses. Many experts consider such low dosing insufficient to prevent deficiency.
• France takes a different approach: the French Pediatric Society’s guideline (2012) for pregnant women was to give a single oral dose of 80,000–100,000 IU vitamin D at the beginning of the 7th month of pregnancy. This is essentially a one-time high-dose “loading” strategy. VitaminDWiki’s commentary on this is that giving that much all at once is “too much all at once” – implying a preference for spreading the dose – but it illustrates that some national guidelines do acknowledge the need for higher total vitamin D intake during pregnancy (just delivered in a bolus form).
• Researchers like Dr. Michael Holick have called for action to increase vitamin D intake in pregnancy. A 2019 “call to action” cited on the page advocates for allowing loading doses and generally raising target levels for pregnant women, given the clear benefits and safety profile. Similarly, multiple conferences and publications (including a 2013 workshop and a 2015 GrassrootsHealth analysis) have pushed for recognizing vitamin D as a key factor in reducing preterm births and other poor outcomes.
• The compilation on VitaminDWiki also includes many “overview” papers by experts. For example, summaries of work by Hollis and Wagner from 2010–2013 consistently conclude that 4,000 IU/day is the optimal dose in pregnancy for safety and efficacy. They emphasize starting vitamin D early (even before conception, if possible) to ensure the mother enters pregnancy with a healthy vitamin D status. In fact, one section is titled “Ensure a healthy pregnancy and baby – take Vitamin D before conception”, underscoring that women trying to become pregnant (and even fathers, for sperm quality) might benefit from raising their vitamin D levels pre-pregnancy to improve fertility and pregnancy outcomes.

There is also mention of a “Vitamin D Intervention clinical trials – 75 as of July 2017” which indicates the rapidly growing scientific attention: by 2017 there were at least 75 clinical trials investigating vitamin D in pregnancy. This number has likely grown, reflecting global interest in resolving optimal dosing and confirming all the benefits. The overall direction of these efforts is to incorporate the research findings into standard care – increasing recommended vitamin D supplementation for pregnant women and infants to improve health outcomes.
In conclusion, the VitaminDWiki overview of pregnancy and vitamin D presents compelling evidence that maintaining high vitamin D status is essential for maternal health, successful pregnancy, and the child’s development. Key takeaways are that most pregnant women are not getting enough vitamin D under current guidelines, and this deficiency is linked to higher risks of complications and suboptimal infant health. By contrast, supplementation with adequate doses (on the order of thousands of IU per day) dramatically improves outcomes – reducing preterm births, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, infections, and ensuring infants develop strong bones and healthy immune systems. The page’s summary of dozens of studies makes a strong case for revising public health recommendations to encourage higher vitamin D intake before, during, and after pregnancy for the benefit of both mothers and their children.

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Pregnancy category listing has 936 items along with many category combinations

Vitamin D during pregnancy

IU	Cumulative Benefit	Blood level	Cofactors	Calcium	$*/month
200	Better bones for mom with 600 mg of Calcium	6 ng/ml increase	Not needed	No effect	$0.10
400	Less Rickets (but not zero with 400 IU) 3X less adolescent Schizophrenia Fewer child seizures	20-30 ng/ml	Not needed	No effect	$0.20
2000	2X More likely to get pregnant naturally/IVF 2X Fewer dental problems with pregnancy 8X less diabetes 4X fewer C-sections (>37 ng) 4X less preeclampsia (40 ng vs 10 ng) 5X less child asthma 2X fewer language problems age 5	42 ng/ml	Desirable	< 750 mg	$1
4000	2X fewer pregnancy complications 2X fewer pre-term births	49 ng/ml	Should have cofactors	< 750 mg	$3
6000	Probable: larger benefits for above items Just enough D for breastfed infant More maternal and infant weight		Should have cofactors	< 750 mg	$4

$* assumes

• You buy fairly |low cost vitamin D and Cofactors (more expensive if liquid and/or vegan )
• Using a low cost size of vitamin D - such as 5,000 IU, as often as needed. (50,000 IU costs even less)
  Example: 5000 IU every other day if you only want an average of 2500 IU
• Test vitamin D levels of only those moms who are at high risk for being vitamin D deficient
     $30 for a blood test about 6 weeks after starting vitamin D to check that high-risk mom is getting enough

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Healthy pregnancies need lots of vitamin D

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
click here for details

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Ensure a healthy pregnancy and baby - take Vitamin D before conception

has the following

click on chart for details

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62 Studies of Pregnancy AND Intervention in VitaminDWiki

This count and list are automatically updated

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6 Studies of Pregnancy AND Loading Dose in VitaminDWiki

This count and list are automatically updated

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Pregnancy - general

• All items in Pregnancy and Vitamin D 936 items
• Vitamin D intervention for 8 weeks of pregnancy: infants taller, heavier and bigger heads – RCT Oct 2013
• Pregnancy needs 4000 IU of vitamin D: current opinion - June 2013 4000 IU
• Pregnant women should have 4,000 IU of vitamin D – Topic review June 2013 4000 IU
• Optimal Vitamin D during pregnancy - 4000 IU March 2012 Wagner, Hollis, et al
• 4000 IU Vitamin D Safe and Effective For Healthy Pregnant Women – June 2011
• Hollis shows far healthier pregnancy when take 4000 IU of vitamin D
• Many groups of pregnant women are at high risk of being vitamin D deficient – Jan 2013
• 35,000 IU vitamin D weekly during 3rd quarter pregnancy – RCT March 2013
• Near the end of pregnancy 50,000 IU vitamin D weekly was great – RCT April 2013
• Variety of pregnancy problems with low vitamin D – systematic review Sept 2012
• Pregnancy and vitamin D meta-analysis – July 2012
• Low vitamin D increased probability of low birth weight by 60 percent – meta-analysis June 2012
• Predicted vitamin D levels during pregnancy were sort of similar to those measured – Jan 2013
• Vitamin D of 32 to 60 ng is needed before, during, and after pregnancy – Dec 2012
• Higher vitamin D in pregnancy resulted in 2X better infant psychomotor and mental scores – Sept 2012
• More vitamin D during pregnancy made for higher mental scores at 14 months – Dec 2012
  yet another study with the same conclusion as above
• Calcium and bone disorders in pregnancy – May 2012
• Review of recent publications on vitamin D and pregnancy – Feb 2012
  article outline includes "Neonatal morbidity"
  MSNBC article Aug 2011 mentions that US has poor record for deaths within 1 month of birth
  Preterm delivery, asphyxia (lack of oxygen) and severe infections = 3 top causes of newborn death.
     (Note that the 1st and 3rd are associated with low vitamin D)
• Profound vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy - Dec 2010 Wagner, Hollis, et al PDF
• Pregnancy slideshow - 2012 Hollis
• How much vitamin D during pregnancy - Wagner April 2010 author of the two videos and chart below.
• Wagner 53 minute video of the proceeding PDF presentation - April 2010
• Book by Hollis and Wagner on Pregnancy and vitamin D - June 2010
• OBGYN College in UK still recommends only 400 IU during pregnancy – Jan 2012 amazingly low
• French Society of Paediatics Vitamin D recommendations – Jan 2012 lots of details such as:
  pregnant women: a single dose of 80,000 to 100,000 IU at the beginning of the 7th month of pregnancy
    (VitaminDWiki comment: this is too much all at once)
• Needed more than 1600 IU of vitamin D during pregnancy – RCT May 2013 which has the following chart

• Pregnancy and low vitamin D in Qataris and women around the world – Sept 2013 click on thumnail to see thesummary of the studies

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Pregnancy problems vs Vitamin D level - GrassrootsHealth Feb 2015

Recharted by VitaminDWiki Feb 2017

Original

Legend:
All percentages reference a common reference level of 25.0 ng/ml as shown on the chart. %’s reflect the disease prevention % at the beginning and ending of available data.
Example: Gestational diabetes incidence is reduced by 11% when the serum level is 30.7 ng/ml vs the reference level of 25.0 ng/ml. There is a 33% reduction in incidence when the serum level is 41.9 ng/ml vs the reference level of 25.0 ng/ml.
References:

• (Preterm Birth (1): Wagner CL, et al. 17th Workshop on Vitamin D; 2014 June 17-20.
  Preterm Birth (2): Bodnar LM, et al. Obstetrics & Gynecology; 2015.
• Hypertensive Pregnancy Disorders, Gestational Diabetes, and Bacterial Vaginosis: Wagner CL, et al. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2013;136:313-320.
• Depression: Huang JY, et al. J Womens Health. 2014;23(7):588-95.
• Impaired Muscle Strength: Kalliokoski P, et al. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2013;13(237).
• Postpartum Depression: Gur EB, et al. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 2014;179:110-6.
• Small for Gestational Age: Gernand, AD, et al. Obstet Gynecol. 2014;123(1):40-8.
• Common Cold, Ear Infection, and Lung Inflammation: Shin YH, et al. Korean J Pediatr. 2013;56(10):439-445.
• Asthma: Magnus MC, et al. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol. 2013;27(6).

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Preterm and low-weight births

• Improved births with 2,000 IU vitamin D during pregnancy in India - RCT Feb 2015
  less preterm, less c-section, weight more, better APGAR scores
• Premature birth 2.5X more likely if mother had low vitamin D and was having twins – July 2013
• Pre-term birth 3X more likely and C-section 4X if less than 20 ng of vitamin D – May 2012
• Why vitamin D reduces premature birth - April 2011 Note: 2X death rate for premature birth
• Premature delivery associated with low vitamin D in Japanese women – Mar 2011
• Premature or low birth weight resulted in children 3X more likely to be anxious – May 2011
• 50% of very low birthweight infants develop osteopenia with rickets before May 2011
• 7X more likely to have low birth weight babies when mother very low on vitamin D – March 2010
• Arab pre-term infants often have less than 10 ng of vitamin D - 2010
• Pre-term births report USA-Today May 2012
  Of all births: US Blacks 17%, US whites 11%, Germany 9%, UK Canada, Australia 8%, France 7%, Japan 6%
  For 62 out of 65 countries, the rate of premature births has been increasing
  comment by a reader " maternal obesity which increases chance of premature delivery 30%" see original 126 page study
• Osteopenia in preterm infants – May 2012
• The worldwide incidence of preterm birth WHO 2009 PDF is at the bottom of this page
• Vitamin D Webinar - cost of pre-term birth etc- Baggerly Nov 2013 which has the following chart

• Preterm birth vs UV in the US now Vitamin D Council July 2014
  Health problems like preterm birth now INCREASE with hot sun (more UV) - people with air conditioning can totally avoid the benefits of UV
• Low Vitamin D – 2X more likely to have premie AND mother later to have heart problems – Feb 2015

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Increased pre-term birth if black or if high UV index (stay inside - away from the hot sun)

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IU for infants

• Third study found that Infants needed 1600 IU of vitamin D – JAMA RCT May 2013
• 400 IU vitamin D for breastfed - American Association of Pediatrics - Feb 2012
• Intervention of 400 IU of vitamin D raised infant blood levels 14 ng – Jan 2012
• French Society of Paediatics Vitamin D recommendations – Jan 2012 breastfed infants: 1000 to 1200 IU
• One study gave infants 50,000 IU very two months (833 IU /day) note: This is too long of a time between doses,
• Hypothesis at VitaminDWiki: infant Jaundice and vitamin D
• Recommend 100 IU of vitamin D per kg of infant weight in Poland – July 2011 has a graph
• Only about 10 % of breastfed infants get even the minimum recommended vitamin D – April 2010
• Infants getting 200 IU (1400 IU vitamin D weekly) grew better – May 2011
• Breastfed infants in Germany with 250 IU of vitamin D got to 56ng – Sept 2010
• Infants getting 500 IU achieved 60 ng vitamin D in blood – Jan 2011 RCT
• Infants in Finland who got 2000 IU vitamin D daily grew to normal height – March 2011
  excellent proof that a lot of vitamin D does not harm - the only outcome appears to be a huge decrease in diabetes as the cohort got older
• Infants do not tolerate some brands of Vitamin D – additives, color, etc

Low Levels among mothers and infants

Chart from Grassroots Health May 2016

• All items in Infant and child and Vitamin D 862 items
• Infants lacking vitamin D supplementation were 19X more likely to be deficient – April 2012
• 80 % of South Asian Women in UK had less than 10 ng of vitamin D in winter – April 2012
• Mothers and infants in India have very low levels of vitamin D – April 2012
  95 % of mothers had < 20 ng of vitamin D
• 90 % of Indian mothers and infants had less than 20 ng of vitamin D – May 2011
• Low D in developing countries – less than 5 ng in some children in China – Oct 2010
• Percent of populations with less than 20 ng of vitamin D graph of a great many countries with low vitamin D levels
• 82% of pregnant in Southern US were vitamin D insufficient – Sept 2010
• CDC vitamin D statistics for women – March 2012 which has
  Women with less than 20 nanograms: +37% average for all women, 55% if less than high school education, 78% if black

Preeclampsia

• 2X more preeclampsia when vitamin D less than 30 ng, etc. - meta-analysis March 2013
• Preeclampsia and small infants associated with 7 ng less vitamin D – Mar 2011
• How to reduce preeclampsia - May 2011
• Eclampsia 2X more frequency in Swedish winter – Jan 2011
• Pre-eclampsia3X more likely if low vitamin D at 25 week – April 2012
• Preeclampsia Vitamin D Council, March 2013

Infants

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Finland had recommended a huge amount of vitamin D for the infant:

20X more than US standard - Wagner April 2010 slide 31

• Pre-Birth Vitamin D Levels Determine Your Health for Life - Kerri Knox

Fewer than 40% of infants got 400 IU of vitamin D, The amount recommended by American Academy of Pediatrics

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A June 2010 study which includes the following graph, found that MANY children do not even get 200 IU

and NONE of the children got more than 480 IU

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Note: When infant stops drinking vitamin D fortified milk, be sure to supplement with vitamin D - as most fruit juice is not fortified.

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Rickets/Battered Child/Weak bones

• Overview of Rickets and Vitamin D
• See all items in category Rickets in VitaminDWiki 128 items
• Rickets in 30 % of infants in India who had low vitamin D – March 2011
• Death of Babies in UK due to vitamin D deficiency – Jan 2012
• Turkey gave 400 IU vitamin D to needy infants and reduced Rickets by 60X - 2011
• Dark Skinned babies probably need vit D supplements to prevent rickets -2001
• Death of Babies in UK due to vitamin D deficiency – Jan 2012
• Mother and father on trial for infant death – set free – death was due to rickets – Dec 2011
• Mercola March 2011
  lack of vitamins C, D, or K is mistaken for shaken baby syndrome
• Your vitamin D deficient infant could be taken away from you – Sept 2010
  The above item from the Vitamin D council includes the following quotes:
    "1/4 of all otherwise normal infants have evidence of infantile rickets while they are still in the womb."
     "... it is likely that tens of thousands of infants are being sent home from the hospital with multiple fractures because no one has ever done a study looking for asymptomatic fractures."
• Mercola Dec 2010 man acquitted of beating his 3 month old - after 14 months of being kept away from his child
• Vitamin D and infants- Dec 2010 see page 10+ for battered child
• Vitamin D Levels in Kids are So Low that Rickets is Back with a Vengeance – Kerri Knox

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High risk of being vitamin D deficient during pregnancy

Potential high risk if : dark skin, twins, recent pregnancy, smoking, very far from equator, obese, excessive clothes,

• Dark skin births are much riskier due to lack of vitamin D
• Assess your level of vitamin D deficiency - especially if dark skin, far from equator, medical condition, ..
• Black = 97% Hispanic = 81%, White = 67% Pregnant women vitamin D insufficient – July 2010
• Overview of Obesity and Vitamin D Obese people have significantly lower levels of vitamin D
• Should consider loading up on vitamin D very early in the pregnancy if high risk of vitamin D deficiency
  Typical loading dose: 300,000 IU spread over 2 months
• Low cost tests   instant free test to see if anyone is extremely low on vitamin D
• Twins, no tan, winter, and smoking all associated with low levels of vitamin D during pregnancy – Jan 2013

BEFORE: Help getting pregnant - woman & man

Vitamin D increases the fertility of BOTH the woman.and the man
Each 1 ng increase in blood level of vitamin D increases clinical pregnancy by 6%
You may not have heard much about it since it has been patented
   see also Who said vitamin D could not be patented
Vitamin D has been used by zoos and vets for a long time to increase fertility

• Vitamin D and fertility: a systematic review – May 2012 great diagrams
• All items in category Fertility 143 items
• How 60 ng of vitamin D enabled pregnancy - a personal story in VitaminDWiki
• 63% having conception problems were Vitamin D deficient
  100% of those which specific problems had normal vitamin D level
• The men also need vitamin D- Dr. Sorenson, author of Vitamin D3 and Solar Power
• Peak months for births in Czech Republic were March to May - 9 months after peak vitamin D blood levels
• IVF 4X more successful for white women with lots of vitamin D – many studies

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Decrease in C-sections as Vitamin D levels are increased

C-section 4X more likely if less than 20 ng of vitamin D – May 2012
Risk of Cesarean 2X higher if low vitamin D – April 2012
C-section 4X more likely when vitamin D less than 37 ng – many items
Search VitaminDWiki for cesarean 90 items as of Aug 2014

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21 Depression and Pregnancy studies

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Other

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See also VitaminDWiki

• Gestational Diabetes reduced 40 percent by 5,000 IU of vitamin D – RCT April 2014
• Overview Deficiency of vitamin D
• Overview Women and Vitamin D
• All items in Women and vitamin D 197 items
• Smoking while pregnant lowers vitamin D and increases child asthma by 3.6 X – Aug 2011
• Dark skin births are much riskier due to lack of vitamin D
• Doctors in the UK, who are pro-vitamin D, think that pregnancy and infants are some "low hanging fruit'
• Diseases correlated to month of birth – 2008
• Vitamin D Recommendations from around the world
• Why vitamin D has gotten so low in last 40 years
• So many forms of vitamin D are available at very low cost
  tiny soft-gel, oil, sublingual etc.

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6400 IU of vitamin D got mothers to 50+ nanograms

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Some Pregnancy complications if low vitamin D

From 3 to 55 X more likely to have these health problems if low Vitamin D
7 X more likely to have low birth weight infant
5 X more likely to get vaginosis during pregnancy
4 X more likely to have preeclampsia during pregnancy
4 X more likely to have C-section

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Good review of prenatal Vitamins (more than just Vitamin D) - April 2024

Examine.com

• "However, it’s important not to exceed the recommended daily intake during pregnancy, as higher doses of certain vitamins and minerals may be harmful to the fetus (e.g., iron, folic acid, zinc)"
• "These may encompass vitamins vitamin B1, vitamin B2, B3, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, C, D, E, and K, along with folic acid, iodine, magnesium, iron, copper, zinc, selenium, and sometimes additional components like omega-3."
  • VitaminDWiki: Vitamin D is at least 100 X better than Folic Acid

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See also web

• Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System CDC
  
• Clinical Trials for Pregnacy with vitamin D INTERVENTION 75 as of July 2017
• Pharmacokinetics of a single oral dose of vitamin D3 (70,000 IU) in pregnant and non-pregnant women Dec 2012
  PDF is attached at the bottom of this page
• Vitamin D Supplementation During Pregnancy: Is It Necessary? Medscape Sept 2013
  Nope maternal 25(OH)D levels in any trimester failed to significantly affect the bone-mineral content of offspring
  They fail to consider anything other than bone content at age 10!!
• Google Sites on Vitamin D and pregnancy Oct 2013 included links to the following
  Vitamin D may be useful as immunotherapy in treatment of recurrent miscarriage
  Vitamin D reduces inflammation associated with miscarriage
  4000 IU Vitamin D daily lowers rates of infection, preterm labor and preterm birth
  Vitamin D required for fetal development; deficiency causes preeclampsia, gestational diabetes
  Vitamin D levels not associated with fertility or pregnancy outcome except late miscarriage
  Plasma vitamin D concentrations may affect pregnancy outcomes.
  Low vitamin D leads to failed IVF attempts
  Having sufficient vitamin D levels is associated with 4 times higher success rate in IVF
  93% of infertile women were low in vitamin D
  High or low vitamin D associated with lower sperm count, motility and morphology
  High vitamin D levels associated with higher sperm motility and morphology
  Extra vitamin D increases litter size in pigs and has a trend toward higher pregnancy rates
  Vitamin D deficiency leads to fewer offspring in mice
  Vitamin D deficiency impairs egg production, elevates LH and FSH
  Vitamin D stimulates estrogen and progesterone production by the placenta
  Vitamin D stimulates progesterone and estrogen production in the ovary
  Excess Vitamin D reduces the function of the corpus luteum and decreases progesterone
• Effect of Vitamin D Levels on Intrapartum Epidural Consumption Oct 2014 presentation
  12 mg of Epidural for average vitamin D = 41 ng,
  18 mg of Epidural for average vitamin D = 26 ng
  Much less pain among the 93 women who had high levels of vitamin D.
  Note that scheduled cesareans were excluded from the analysis

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Placenta

The Placenta, an Afterthought No Longer New York Times Dec 2018

• "An ephemeral organ, long dismissed merely as afterbirth, increasingly is viewed as critical to understanding the health and course of pregnancy."
• "Ninety percent of the placenta is made up of cells not from the mother but from the fetus."
• "As the placental beachhead grows, its cells specialize to do the work of heart, lungs, liver and kidneys until the fetus can fend for itself. Groups of cells exchange oxygen for carbon dioxide; provide nutrients and hormones; protect the fetus from harmful stress, germs and chemicals; and remove waste"
• "Male fetuses typically are larger than females throughout gestation, but they also have higher rates of spontaneous abortions, stillbirth, premature birth and neurodevelopmental conditions."
  •  Download the NYT PDF (without hyperlinks) from VitaminDWiki

Human Placenta Project
Previously had studied placenta after birth.
Now studying the placenta as early as 1st trimester - to detect and hopefully avoid problems

Short url = http://is.gd/dpregnancy