Fwd: Pregnancy and Vitamin D

[Guest guest]

Vitamin D Council J Cannell, MD Executive Director March 30, 2009   Today, the Vitamin D Council announced its campaign to end the epidemic of Vitamin D deficiency among pregnant women.  Our TV announcement, posted to You-Tube, will begin running in the Washington DC TV market on March 31, 2009.  While we may be accused of instilling fear in pregnant women, we contend pregnant women should be afraid of the consequences of gestational Vitamin D deficiency.   As the American Academy of Pediatrics recently warned, "There is growing evidence that adequate maternal vitamin D status is essential during pregnancy, not only for maternal well-being but also for fetal development."   The Vitamin D Council contends that mounting evidence suggests autism is one abnormality of "fetal development."   While the vitamin D theory of autism is certainly unproven, we see the choice is between allowing gestational Vitamin D deficiency to continue while we await more science, or treating gestational Vitamin D deficiency while we await more science.  Professor Bodnar recently found that the tiny amount of Vitamin D in prenatal vitamins is literally insignificant (see reference below).   We are also running the following announcement in Obstetrics and Gynecology publications:   DOES MATERNAL VITAMIN D DEFICIENCY LEAD TO AUTISM?  IS THIS A FUTURE LIABILITY FOR OBSTETRICIANS?   The American Academy of Pediatrics recently stated,   "Given the growing evidence that adequate maternal vitamin D status is essential during pregnancy, not only for maternal well-being but also for fetal development, health care professionals who provide obstetric care should consider assessing maternal vitamin D status by measuring the 25-hydroxy-vitamin D concentrations of pregnant women (1)."   The Canadian Pediatric Society recently stated,"There is growing evidence that the lack of vitamin D sufficiency may be involved in a variety of systemic diseases, many of which manifest later in life.  Vitamin D deficiency is common among pregnant women.  Supplementation of mothers during pregnancy and lactation with less than 1000 IU/day of vitamin D may be inadequate in maintaining optimal levels of 25(OH)D for both mothers and their infants.    Evidence is accumulating that autism is one sequela of maternal vitamin D deficiency (3).  Autistic damage from maternal vitamin D deficiency will not manifest itself until several years after birth, exposing the obstetrician to potential liability well into the future.  Recent evidence indicates pregnant and lactating women may need as much as 7,000 IU of vitamin D per day (4).  The tiny amount of Vitamin D in prenatal vitamins is irrelevant (5).   Obstetricians would be wise, from both a medical and medico-legal perspective, to diligently diagnose and aggressively treat maternal vitamin D deficiency and carefully document advice given in the medical record.   (1) Wagner CL., et al, Prevention of Rickets and Vitamin D Deficiency in Infants, Children, and Adolescents. Pediatrics 2008;122(5):1142-1152 (2) Canadian Paediatric Society. Vitamin D supplementation: Recommendations for Canadian mothers and infants. Paediatr Child Health 2007;12(7):583-9 (3) Cannell JJ.  Autism and Vitamin D. Med Hypotheses 2008;70(4):750-9. (4) Hollis BW. Vitamin D Requirement during Pregnancy and Lactation. J Bone Miner Res. 2007;22 Suppl 2:V39-44(5) Bodnar LM., et al. High prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency in black and white pregnant women residing in the northern United States and their neonates. J Nutr. 2007;137(2):447-52 We remain almost solely dependent on contributions to continue our campaign.  If you would like to sponsor the TV ad in your area, or contribute to our campaign to end vitamin D deficiency in pregnancy, either contribute through PayPal on our website or send your tax-deductible contribution to:  The Vitamin D Council 9100 San Gregorio Road Atascadero, CA 93422 http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/ You are currently subscribed to vitamind as: laurelmccubbin@... To unsubscribe click here or send a blank email to leave-43777738-77834203.d20381ce0fd62332dbb9585e9e98275e@...