Babies’ bones may benefit from vitamin D supplements

Scientists discover that vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy may strengthen the bones of babies born in winter.

Researchers at the University of Southampton’s Epidemiology Unit conducted a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of vitamin D supplements in pregnancy with over 1,000 pregnant women across Southampton, Oxford and Sheffield.

Women either took 1000 units of vitamin D each day or a placebo from 14 weeks pregnant until delivery of the baby. The results indicated that vitamin D was ‘highly effective at increasing vitamin D levels in the mother.’ More than 80 per cent of the women who took supplements had a satisfactory vitamin D level, compared with 35 per cent in the placebo group.

Further analysis showed that babies born during the winter from the mother’s who took the supplements had a greater bone mass than those born to mothers who received the placebo.

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