Nutrition during pregnancy Latvia eng

 

---

10  

 

3.6   Vitamin  D    

Obese   pregnant   women   are   more   likely   to   be   deficient   in   vitamin   D   than   women   of   normal  

weight,   as   obesity   reduces   the   bioavailability   of   this   vitamin.   Fatty   tissues   require   vitamin   D  

(which  is  fat-­‐soluble)  and  make  use  of  the  maternal  reserves;  the  greater  the  fatty  tissue  mass  

of  the  mother,  the  more  vitamin  D  she  requires.  Expectant  mothers  are  often  advised  to  take  

additional   vitamin   D   during   pregnancy,   especially   in   the   Northern   hemisphere,   as   sufficient  

maternal  vitamin  D  is  required  for  the  development  of  the  fetal  skeletomuscular  system,  brain  

and  immune  system.  Vitamin  D  deficiency  may  have  a  negative  effect  on  the  development  of  

the   child’s   bone   tissue   and   cause   long-­‐term   skeletal   disorders,   such   as   osteoporosis,  

irrespective  of  the  postnatal  nutrition  of  the  child.  Vitamin  D  deficiency  also  increases  the  risks  

for  fetal  growth  impairment,  low  birth  weight,  neonatal  tetanus,  hypokalaemia,  cardiovascular  

disease  and  diabetes  mellitus  type  I  and  incurs  a  lifelong  risk  for  cancer.  For  the  mother,  vitamin  

D  deficiency  is  associated  with  risks  for  pre-­‐eclampsia,  premature  delivery,  insulin  resistance,  

gestational  diabetes,  dysfunction  of  the  immune  system  and  bacterial  vaginosis.