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Studying Vitamin D

The Connection Between Vitamin D and Pre-eclampsia

By Teri Brown

"Vitamin D has diverse functions in the body," Dr. Bodnar says. "It was previously thought to be related to skeletal health (bone mineralization and calcium homeostasis), but recently, research has shown that vitamin D is important for countless cell systems in the body. Vitamin D is not just important for maternal and fetal bone health. Our research shows that a deficiency in vitamin D in the first half of pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of pre-eclampsia, a serious pregnancy complication that has implications for maternal and fetal health and well-being."

Dr. Bodnar says vitamin D is a regulator of genes important for the development of the placenta and the maternal blood circulation to the placenta and fetus. It is also a regulator of the immune response and has anti-inflammatory properties. All of these things are thought to be abnormal in pre-eclampsia.

Michelle Collins, an instructor in Clinical Nursing, Nurse-Midwifery Specialty, at the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, read the literature on the study. "The risk noted in this particular research was five times greater that a pregnant woman could develop pre-eclampsia, if she were vitamin D deficient, when compared to women who were not deficient in vitamin D," Collins says. "It is not yet clear what the association is between vitamin D deficiency an pre-eclampsia, but researchers feel that the deficiency plays a role in the pathway of pre-eclampsia."

Want to see more?

• Managing Pre-eclampsia
• Tackling Toxemia: Toxemia Is a Common Pregnancy Disorder
• Smart Supplements: A Look at Prenatal Vitamins
• Check out our Article Library.
• Talk about it!