Especially in the winter months, many pregnant women suffer from a lack of vitamin D. This can lead to complications during pregnancy and disturbances in the development of the child.
In a cross-sectional study, a research team led by Clemens Kunz from the Institute of Nutritional Science at the University of Gießen examined the concentration of vitamin D in the blood of pregnant women and their unborn children.
They found that 98 percent of women had a vitamin D deficiency in the winter months. And 94 percent of the children also showed a vitamin D deficiency during this time. The results in the summer months were also frightening, because even in the sunny time of the year 49 percent of the expectant mothers and 35 percent of their unborn children still suffered from a vitamin D deficiency.
A lack of the vitamin can have serious consequences, can lead to complications during pregnancy such as gestational diabetes or miscarriages. In children, it can result in lung diseases or a disturbed bone structure.
Since vitamin D is mainly formed in the skin with the help of sunlight and can only be absorbed to a limited extent through food, the experts consider it advisable to give special vitamin D preparations. Contrary to popular belief, an overdose of vitamin D is not to be feared, since the vitamin is taken in as a passive form and only produced as an active form when needed. On the other hand, the body can apparently simply excrete too much of the active ingredient.
