Risk of Rickets Reduced With Maternal Vitamin D Supplementation

Women who supplemented vitamin D both during pregnancy and six months postpartum reduced their babies’ chances of developing rickets, a recent study shows.

Shutterstock

Increasing vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy can drastically reduce the risk of an infant developing rickets, a childhood condition marked by weakened, softened bones.

Results of a recent randomized trial published in Pediatrics by researchers in Canada and Bangladesh found that vitamin D supplementation before and after pregnancy offered the most benefit to children in preventing rickets, as opposed to supplementation that ended at delivery.

A Common Bone Disease

Rickets is one of the most common causes of pediatric bone disease worldwide. It usually results from extreme and prolonged vitamin D deficiency. During pregnancy or an infant’s early childhood, vitamin D helps a growing fetus or infant absorb calcium and phosphorus from food. If enough vitamin D isn’t available, it can be challenging to maintain enough of these minerals in the bones, which can cause rickets.