Why Vitamin D Is Important for a Healthy Pregnancy

Vitamins and minerals have an essential role to play in ensuring good health. They are even more important during pregnancy when your body gives form to the life inside you. No matter how much you take care of your diet, you may still fall short of critical vitamins such as vitamin D. Here’s all you need to know about maintaining optimum vitamin D levels in the body during pregnancy.

Why do you need vitamin D during pregnancy?

Vitamin D is critical in the skeletal development of the baby. Low levels of vitamin D in pregnancy can put your baby at risk of weakening bones. This vitamin balances calcium and phosphate levels, critical for bone, teeth, and muscle health. Vitamin D ensures that your baby’s bones are healthy and strong and grow at the right pace inside your womb.

Other ailments that may affect your baby if you have vitamin D insufficiency are:

• ·Disordered skeletal homeostasis
•  Fractures
• ·Rickets

Vitamin D—the natural way

We get our vitamin D from the sun, a perennial source. Those who spend enough time outdoors can get adequate vitamin D, but even then, only when the weather is sunny.

Also, it would help if you spent enough time outdoors for your body to make enough of this vitamin. How much vitamin D your body makes depends on your skin type and sun exposure. However, ensure you do not stay outdoors in the sun for long enough to get sunburned.

Food sources rich in vitamin D

For non-vegetarians, the primary sources of vitamin D include:

• Eggs
• Red meat
• Oily fish

Meanwhile, vegetarians can turn to certain mushrooms, soy products, fruits and vegetables, and fortified juices and milk for their regular vitamin D intake. However, the fact remains that it is tough to meet your body’s vitamin D requirements through diet alone.

Experts suggest that pregnant women need 10 mcg of vitamin D daily. Since it is difficult to get this consistently and deficiency can affect the baby, pregnant women are asked to take vitamin D in the supplement form. Research shows that taking vitamin D supplements during pregnancy helps in the following ways:

• Improved fetal growth
• Reduces risk of preeclampsia
• Lowers risk of premature birth and small-for-term baby
• Less risk of attention deficit disorder in the baby
• Better enamel health in the child
• Lower risk of hyperactivity and autism in the child

To summarize, vitamin D can ensure better health and development for your baby while keeping certain conditions at bay. Since it is difficult to get your recommended daily dose of vitamin D through diet and exposure to the sun alone, ask your doctor to prescribe you vitamin D supplements. Check your vitamin D levels regularly, and consult your doctor in case of vitamin D deficiency.