Pregnant women 'not taking enough' vitamin D

EOIN BURKE-KENNEDY

PREGNANT WOMEN in Ireland have vitamin D intakes far below those recommended for the normal development of a child’s bones, according to a new study.

The research, published in the latest issue of the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition , found the average dietary intake of vitamin D among pregnant women in Ireland was 80 per cent below the Food Safety Authority’s recommendation for an average adult.

It found that fewer than a quarter of pregnant women surveyed consumed oily fish, such as salmon or mackerel, the best dietary source of vitamin D.

It noted that women often opted for plain carbohydrate foods, usually low in vitamin D, during early pregnancy to alleviate symptoms of nausea.

Vitamin D helps the body to absorb calcium, which is vital in the building and maintenance of bones and teeth. Deficiencies of the vitamin during pregnancy have been associated with reduced bone growth in babies before birth and poor bone development in early childhood.

In severe cases, it has been known to cause childhood rickets, a softening and weakening of the bones.

As it can be obtained from sun exposure, vitamin D is known as the “sunshine vitamin”. Ireland’s geographic position in northern Europe means there is insufficient sunlight to allow adequate vitamin D production in our skin, especially between October and March.

Vitamin D is only found in a limited number of foods such as oily fish, egg yolk and liver, foods which women are often advised to avoid during pregnancy.

“Our findings reveal that pregnant women in Ireland have a poor dietary intake of vitamin D,” said Fionnuala McAuliffe, professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at University College Dublin and the National Maternity Hospital, Dublin, who led the study.

“Their diet, which includes meat, eggs and fortified breakfast cereals, simply does not provide the recommended levels of the vitamin.”

The authors recommended that pregnant women whose diets were deficient in vitamin D could consider taking vitamin supplements.

Alternatively, they could augment their intake naturally through a more concerted consumption of vitamin D-rich foods, said Ciara McGowan, a research dietitian at University College Dublin and the National Maternity Hospital.

“A planned mixed diet, including one to two portions of oily fish such as salmon or mackerel a week, more eggs and fortified breakfast cereals can help women increase their vitamin D intake during pregnancy,” she said.

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