One in five pregnancies is miscarried — now a Birmingham University study is examining whether taking vitamin D before pregnancy will cut this risk.
The study, funded by the charity Tommy’s, follows research by the same team that showed women low in vitamin D (their levels were under 50 nmol/L) were twice as likely to miscarry as those with enough of the vitamin (more than 75 nmol/L), the journal Fertility and Sterility reported last year.
Around 1,000 women who have had two or more miscarriages will have their vitamin D levels checked, and those found to be low in it will be given an eight-week course of high-dose supplements to take pre-conception.
It is thought that vitamin D is important for the implantation of the embryo and in forming a healthy placenta — which supplies the unborn baby with nutrients and oxygen to survive.
While pregnant women are already advised to take vitamin D, few do so, says Dr Jennifer Tamblyn, an honorary clinical lecturer at Birmingham and one of the researchers on the new study.
"Vitamin D is safe and low cost. So, from a public health perspective, supplementation is a great recommendation. Unfortunately, we know that uptake of vitamin supplements is low," says Dr Tamblyn.
"There’s an increasing body of work that suggests that vitamin D is not only important for maternal health but is good for foetal growth and development, too," says Professor Charles Kingsland, chief medical officer of the CARE Fertility chain of clinics.
"My advice to women planning on starting a family is to take folic acid, have a good diet, get plenty of rest — and take vitamin D."
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