{"title":"Calcium homeostasis during pregnancy and lactation: role of vitamin D supplementation","authors":"R. K. Marya","doi":"10.4314/ijmu.v13i1.4","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Pregnancy and lactation cycle is a period of considerable strain on maternal calcium homeostasis. A number of adaptive mechanisms involve increased intestinal calcium absorption, renal calcium conservation and changes in bone metabolism. These adaptations are mediated through changes in the secretion of various calciotropic hormones [1,25(OH)2 D3, parathormone, and calcitonin]. In all of these adaptive mechanisms, vitamin D is involved directly or indirectly. Now, it is being realized that not only darkskinned but also even Caucasian women tend to go into vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy. Adverse health outcomes such as preeclampsia, low birth-weight, neonatal hypocalcemia, poor postnatal growth, bone fragility, and increased incidence of autoimmune diseases have been linked to low vitamin D levels during pregnancy and infancy. Vitamin D deficiency seems to be a public health problem even in 2018. Most of the experts in the field are convinced that women need extra amounts of vitamin D during pregnancy and lactation. The amount of vitamin D that is required for optimum calcium homeostasis in this phase of life is still controversial. Studies are under way to establish the recommended daily doses of vitamin D in pregnant and lactating women. Key words : Vitamin D deficiency; Pregnancy; Lactation; Vitamin D supplementation","PeriodicalId":14472,"journal":{"name":"Internet Journal of Medical Update - EJOURNAL","volume":"2010 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2018-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"4","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Internet Journal of Medical Update - EJOURNAL","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.4314/ijmu.v13i1.4","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"","JCRName":"","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 4
Abstract
Pregnancy and lactation cycle is a period of considerable strain on maternal calcium homeostasis. A number of adaptive mechanisms involve increased intestinal calcium absorption, renal calcium conservation and changes in bone metabolism. These adaptations are mediated through changes in the secretion of various calciotropic hormones [1,25(OH)2 D3, parathormone, and calcitonin]. In all of these adaptive mechanisms, vitamin D is involved directly or indirectly. Now, it is being realized that not only darkskinned but also even Caucasian women tend to go into vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy. Adverse health outcomes such as preeclampsia, low birth-weight, neonatal hypocalcemia, poor postnatal growth, bone fragility, and increased incidence of autoimmune diseases have been linked to low vitamin D levels during pregnancy and infancy. Vitamin D deficiency seems to be a public health problem even in 2018. Most of the experts in the field are convinced that women need extra amounts of vitamin D during pregnancy and lactation. The amount of vitamin D that is required for optimum calcium homeostasis in this phase of life is still controversial. Studies are under way to establish the recommended daily doses of vitamin D in pregnant and lactating women. Key words : Vitamin D deficiency; Pregnancy; Lactation; Vitamin D supplementation