(PhysOrg.com) -- Pregnant women with low levels of vitamin D are
more likely to develop gestational diabetes, and, their babies
are more prone to bone weakness, according to a study and
editorial published in the latest issue of the Medical Journal
of Australia. An editorial written by Professor Peter Ebeling of
the University of Melbourne and Western Health, identifies
pregnant women as a high risk group for getting vitamin D
deficiency in pregnancy and other related diseases such as
gestational diabetes, putting both mother and baby at risk.
Evidence has accumulated linking vitamin D deficiency to adverse
outcomes in pregnancy, such as preeclampsia, hypertension,
higher rates of caesarean section and pre-term delivery, he
said. He said gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), is
increasingly becoming more common, affecting up to 10% of
pregnancies. Current evidence strongly supports routine
screening for vitamin D deficiency early in pregnancy, he said.
Furthermore, vitamin D supplementation to correct deficien