Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2012 Mar;4(3):208-30.
doi: 10.3390/nu4030208. Epub 2012 Mar 21.

Vitamin D and its role during pregnancy in attaining optimal health of mother and fetus

Carol L Wagner  1 , Sarah N Taylor, Adekunle Dawodu, Donna D Johnson, Bruce W Hollis
Affiliations
Review

Vitamin D and its role during pregnancy in attaining optimal health of mother and fetus

Carol L Wagner et al. Nutrients. 2012 Mar.

Abstract

Despite its discovery a hundred years ago, vitamin D has emerged as one of the most controversial nutrients and prohormones of the 21st century. Its role in calcium metabolism and bone health is undisputed but its role in immune function and long-term health is debated. There are clear indicators from in vitro and animal in vivo studies that point to vitamin D's indisputable role in both innate and adaptive immunity; however, the translation of these findings to clinical practice, including the care of the pregnant woman, has not occurred. Until recently, there has been a paucity of data from randomized controlled trials to establish clear cut beneficial effects of vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy. An overview of vitamin metabolism, states of deficiency, and the results of recent clinical trials conducted in the U.S. are presented with an emphasis on what is known and what questions remain to be answered.

Keywords: calcitriol; cholecalciferol; neonate; pregnancy; vitamin D.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Human vitamin D synthesis pathways. Reproduced with permission from [7].
Figure 2
Figure 2
Relationship of circulating 25(OH)D on circulating 1,25(OH)D during pregnancy.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Drake A., Walker B. The intergenerational effects of fetal programming: Non-genomic mechanisms for the inheritance of low birth weight and cardiovascular risk. J. Endocrinol. 2004;180:1–16. - PubMed
    1. Whitelaw E. Epigenetics: Sins of the fathers, and their fathers. Eur. J. Hum. Genet. 2006;14:131–132. - PubMed
    1. Burris H.H., Collins J.W., Jr. Race and preterm birth—The case for epigenetic inquiry. Ethn. Dis. 2010;20:296–299. - PubMed
    1. Bjorn L.O., Wang T. Is provitamin D a UV-B receptor in plants? Plant Ecol. 2001;154:1–8.
    1. Bjorn L.O., Wang T. Vitamin D in an ecological context. Int. J. Circumpolar. Health. 2000;59:26–32. - PubMed