Safe amount of vitamin D during pregnancy and lactation

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May 2 2012American Academy of Pediatrics

Women who do not receive enough vitamin D during pregnancy and lactation can experience serious health problems for themselves and their baby, but health experts offer conflicting advice on what constitutes a safe amount. The latest research on vitamin D will be discussed during a topic symposium at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting on Tuesday, May 1, 2012, at 10:30 a.m. ET in Room 310 at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston.

The session, "Vitamin D During Pregnancy and Lactation: Do Mother and Baby Need Screening for Deficiency or High-Dose Supplementation?" will discuss the consequences of low vitamin D in infants and pregnant women, and the recommendations for screening for prevention of vitamin D deficiency, including costs associated with high-dose supplementation. The session will also review the current literature and science and position papers related to vitamin D intake.

"We are looking forward to focusing on the evidence behind vitamin D requirements and how we can resolve the controversies surrounding vitamin D requirements with this session," said symposium chair, Steven A. Abrams, MD. "This is a significant issue in the field of pediatrics, and the PAS meeting provides an ideal venue to have an open discussion with health experts."

The session will take place 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. ET and include:

10:30 AM - Vitamin D in Pregnancy and Lactation: Who Says What and Why Don't Any Organizations Agree?
Steven A. Abrams, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX

10:45 AM - Vitamin D during Pregnancy and Lactation: What Should We Recommend and Why?
Christopher S. Kovacs, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Canada

11:10 AM - Vitamin D: How Much Is Safe for Infants and What Happens When Babies Get Too Much or Too Little?
Thomas O. Carpenter, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT

11:35 AM - Screening and Intervention Strategies for Prevention of Vitamin D Deficiency in Infants
Catherine M. Gordon, Children's Hospital of Boston, Boston, MA

12:00 PM - Where Do We Go from Here? How Do We Resolve Conflicts over Vitamin D Recommendations during Pregnancy, Lactation and in Infants?
Steven A. Abrams, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX

12:15 PM - Discussion

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American Academy of Pediatrics

Posted in: Child Health News | Women's Health News

Tags: Baby, Children, CT, Hospital, Medicine, Pediatrics, Pregnancy, Research, Vitamin A, Vitamin A Deficiency, Vitamin B, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Vitamin D Deficiency, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, Vitamins

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Vitamin D Requirements For Pregnancy

CLS says:

May 2, 2012 at 9:28 AM

Women who take high doses of vitamin D during pregnancy have a greatly reduced risk of complications, including gestational diabetes, preterm birth, and infection, new research suggests.

Based on the findings, study researchers are recommending that pregnant women take 4,000 international units (IU) of vitamin D every day -- at least 10 times the amount recommended by various health groups.

Women in the study who took 4,000 IU of the vitamin daily in their second and third trimesters showed no evidence of harm, but they had half the rate of pregnancy-related complications as women who took 400 IU of vitamin D every day, says neonatologist and study co-researcher Carol L. Wagner, MD, of the Medical University of South Carolina.

Wagner acknowledges the recommendation may be controversial because very high doses of vitamin D have long been believed to cause birth defects.

"Any doctor who hasn't followed the literature may be wary of telling their patients to take 4,000 IU of vitamin D," she says. "But there is no evidence that vitamin D supplementation is toxic, even at levels above 10,000 IU."

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