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Medications and More during pregnancy and breastfeeding

Vitamin D

Selected References:

  • Achkar M, et al. 2015. Vitamin D status in early pregnancy and risk of preeclampsia. Am J Obstet Gynecol; 212:511.e1-7. 
  • Adrien N, et al. 2023. Early pregnancy vitamin D status and risk of select congenital anomalies in the National Birth Defects Prevention Study. Birth Defects Res; 115:290-301. 
  • Akhavizadegan H, Karbakhsh M. 2017. Comparison of serum vitamin D between fertile and infertile men in a vitamin D deficient endemic area: a case-control study. Urologia; 84(4):218-220. 
  • Allan KM, et al. 2015. Maternal vitamin D and E intakes during pregnancy are associated with asthma in children. Eur Respir J; 45(4):1027-1036. 
  • American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). 2024. Committee Opinion No. 495: Vitamin D: screening and supplementation during pregnancy. Committee on Obstetric Practice.  
  • Andersen LB, et al. 2015. Vitamin D insufficiency is associated with increased risk of first-trimester miscarriage in the Odense Child Cohort. Am J Clin Nutr. 102(3):633-638. 
  • Bodnar LM, et al. 2007. Maternal vitamin D deficiency increases the risk of preeclampsia. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 92(9):3517-3522. 
  • Bodnar LM, et al. 2014. Maternal vitamin D status and spontaneous preterm birth by placental histology in the US Collaborative Perinatal Project. Am J Epidemiol 179(2): 168-176. 
  • Brooke OG, et al. 1980. Vitamin D supplements in pregnant Asian women: effects on calcium status and fetal growth. Br Med J 280:751-754. 
  • Camargo CA Jr, et al. 2007. Maternal intake of vitamin D during pregnancy and risk of recurrent wheeze in children at 3 y of age. Am J Clin Nutr; 85:788-795. 
  • Caplan RH & Beguin EA. 1990. Hypercalcemia in a calcitriol-treated hypoparathyroid woman during lactation. Obstet Gynecol 76:485-489.  
  • Caretta N, et al. 2016. Hypovitaminosis D is associated with erectile dysfunction in type 2 diabetes. Endocrine; 53(3):831-838. 
  • Chen C, et al. 2022. Association between serum vitamin D level during pregnancy and recurrent spontaneous abortion: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Am J Reprod Immunol; 88(3):e13582. 
  • Chen YH, et al. 2015. Maternal vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy elevates the risks of small for gestational age and low birth weight infants in Chinese population. J Clin Endocrinol Metab; 100(5):1912-1919. 
  • Cockburn F, et al. 1980. Maternal vitamin D intake and mineral metabolism in mothers and newborn infants. Br Med J; 281:11-13.  
  • Correa P, et al. 2025. Vitamin D Deficiency and Risk of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus in Western Countries: A Scoping Review. Nutrients; 17(15):2429.  
  • Cundy T, et al. 1987. Remission of hypoparathyroidism during lactation: evidence for a physiological role for prolactin in the regulation of vitamin D metabolism. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf); 26:667-674. 
  • Daglar K, et al. 2016. Maternal serum vitamin D levels in pregnancies complicated by neural tube defects. J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med; 29(2):298-302. 
  • De-Regil LM, et al. 2016. Vitamin D supplementation for women during pregnancy. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews; 1: CD008873. 
  • Delvin EE, et l. 1986.  Vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy: effect on neonatal calcium homeostasis. J Pediatr; 109:328-334.  
  • Demay MB, et al. 2024. Vitamin D for the prevention of disease: an endocrine society clinical practice guideline. J Clin Endocrinol Metab; 109:1907-1947.  
  • Devereux G, et al. 2007. Maternal vitamin D intake during pregnancy and early childhood wheezing. Am J Clin Nutr; 85:853-859. 
  • Dovnik A, Mujezinović F. 2018. The Association of Vitamin D Levels with common pregnancy complications. Nutrients; 10:867. 
  • Dror DK. 2011. Vitamin D status during pregnancy: maternal, fetal, and postnatal outcomes. Curr Opinion Obstet Gynecol; 23:422-426. 
  • Durá-Travé T, Gallinas-Victoriano F. 2025. Vitamin D and Intrauterine Growth Restriction (IUGR). Int J Mol Sci; 26(23):11422. 
  • Goodenday LS & Gordan GS. 1971. Fetal safety of vitamin D during pregnancy. Clin Res; 19:200. 
  • Goodenday LS & Gordan GS. 1971. No risk from vitamin D during pregnancy. Ann Intern Med; 75:807-808. 
  • Fung JL, et al. 2017. Association of vitamin D intake and serum levels with fertility: Results from the Lifestyle and Fertility Study. Fertil Steril; 108(2)L302-311. 
  • Handel MN, et al. 2017. Prenatal exposure to vitamin D from fortified margarine and risk of fractures in late childhood: period and cohort results from 222 000 subjects in the D-tect observational study. Br J Nutr; 117(6):872-881. 
  • Hansen S, et al. 2015. The long-term programming effect of maternal 25-hydroxyvitamin D in pregnancy on allergic airway disease and lung function in offspring after 20 to 25 years of follow-up. J Allergy Clin Immunol; 136(1):169-176.e2. 
  • Harvey NC, et al. 2014. Vitamin D supplementation in pregnancy: a systematic review. Health Technol Assess; 18(45):1-190. 
  • Haugen M, et al. 2009. Vitamin D supplementation and reduced risk of preeclampsia in nulliparous women. Epidemiology; 20(5):720-726. 
  • Haussler MR & McCain TA. 1977. Basic and clinical concepts related to vitamin D metabolism and action. N Engl J Med 297:1041-1050. 
  • Heckmatt JZ, et al. 1979. Plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D in pregnant Asian women and their babies. Lancet; 2:546-548. 
  • Holick MF, et al. 2012. Guidelines for preventing and treating vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency revisited. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism; 97(4): 1153–1158. 
  • Hollis BW. 2005. Circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels indicative of vitamin D sufficiency: implications for establishing a new effective dietary intake recommendation for vitamin D. J Nutr; 135(2):317-322. 
  • Hollis BW & Wagner CL. 2004. Assessment of dietary vitamin D requirements during pregnancy and lactation. Am J Clin Nutr; 79(5):717-726.  
  • Hollis BW, et al. 2015. Maternal versus infant vitamin D supplementation during lactation: A randomized controlled trial. Pediatrics; 136(4): 625–634. 
  • Institute of Medicine, 2011. Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium and Vitamin D. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. Available at https://www.nationalacademies.org/read/13050/chapter/1.  
  • Institute of Medicine, Food and Nutrition Board. 1997. Dietary Reference Intakes: Calcium, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Vitamin D and Fluoride. National Academy Press, Washington, DC. 
  • Jensen MB. 2014. Vitamin D and male reproduction. Nature Reviews Endocrinology; 10: 175-186.  
  • Krysiak R, et al. 2011. Hypoparathyroidism in pregnancy. Gynecol Endocrinol; 27:529-32. 
  • Lawlor DA, et al. 2013. Association of maternal vitamin D status during pregnancy with bone-mineral content in offspring: a prospective cohort study. Lancet; 381(9884):2176-2183. 
  • Lerchbaum E & Rabe T. 2014. Vitamin D and female fertility. Curr Opin Obstet Gynecol; 26: 145-150. 
  • Lu M, et al. 2021. Effect of early and late prenatal vitamin D and maternal asthma status on offspring asthma or recurrent wheeze. J Allergy Clin Immunol; 147(4):1234-1241.e3.  
  • Mather KJ, et al. 1999. Maintenance of serum calcium by parathyroid hormone-related peptide during lactation in a hypoparathyroid patient. J Clin Endocrinol Metab; 84:424-427. 
  • Maxwell JD, et al. 1981. Vitamin D supplements enhance weight gain and nutritional status in pregnant Asians. Br J Obstet Gynecol; 88:987-991. 
  • Meek JY, et al. 2022. Policy Statement: Breastfeeding and the Use of Human Milk. Pediatrics; 150(1). 
  • Melough MM, et al. 2021. Maternal plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D during gestation is positively associated with neurocognitive development in offspring at age 4-6 years. J Nutr; 151(1):132-139. 
  • Mirzaei F, et al. 2011. Gestational vitamin D and the risk of multiple sclerosis in offspring. Ann Neurol; 70(1):30-40. 
  • Mohaghegh Z, et al. 2015. The relation of preeclampsia and serum level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in mothers and their neonates: a case control study in Iran. Horm Metab Res; 47(4):284-288. 
  • Morales E, et al. 2012. Maternal Vitamin D Status in Pregnancy and Risk of Lower Respiratory Tract Infections, Wheezing, and Asthma in Offspring. Epidemiology; 23(1):64-71. 
  • Mulligan ML, et al. 2010. Implications of vitamin D deficiency in pregnancy and lactation. Am J Obstet Gynecol; 202:429.e1-9.  
  • Mumford SL, et al. 2018. Association of preconception serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations with livebirth and pregnancy loss: A prospective cohort study. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol; 6(9):725-732. 
  • Murphy PK, et al. 2010. An exploratory study of postpartum depression and vitamin D. J Am Psychiatr Nurses Assoc; 16(3): 170-177. 
  • Nasri K, et al. 2016. Maternal 25-hydroxyvitamin D level and the occurrence of neural tube defects in Tunisia. Int J Gynaecol Obstet; 134(2):131-134. 
  • Norman AW. 2008. From vitamin D to hormone D: fundamentals of the vitamin D endocrine system essential for good health. Am J Clin Nutr; 88(2):491S-499S. 
  • Oken E, et al. 2007. Diet during pregnancy and risk of preeclampsia or gestational hypertension. Ann Epidemiol. 17:663-668. 
  • Paffoni A, et al. 2014. Vitamin D deficiency and infertility: insights from in vitro fertilization cycles. J Clin Endocrinol Metab; 99(11):E2372-2376. 
  • Palacios C, et al. 2019. Vitamin D supplementation for women during pregnancy. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews; 7:CD008873. 
  • Palacios C, et al. 2024. Vitamin D supplementation for women during pregnancy. Cochrane Database Syst Rev; 7(7):CD008873. 
  • Perez-Lopez F, et al. 2015. Effect of vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy on maternal and neonatal outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Fertil Steril; 103(5): 1278-1288e4.  
  • Piekoszewska-Ziętek P, et al. 2025. Influence of Vitamin D on Developmental Defects of Enamel (DDE) in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review. Nutrients; 17(8):1317. 
  • Raia-Barjat T, et al. 2021. Vitamin D deficiency during late pregnancy mediates placenta-associated complications. Sci Rep; 11(1):20708. 
  • Ramagopalan SV, et al. 2011. Relationship of UV exposure to prevalence of multiple sclerosis in England. Neurology. 76(16):1410-1414. 
  • Ribamar A, et al. 2020. Relationship between vitamin D deficiency and both gestational and postpartum depression. Nutr Hosp 37(6):1238-1245. 
  • Robinson M, et al. 2014. Low maternal serum vitamin D during pregnancy and the risk for postpartum depression symptoms. Arch Womens Ment Health 17(3): 213-219. 
  • Rude RK, et al. 1984. Postpartum resolution of hypocalcemia in a lactating hypoparathyroid patient. Endocrinol Jpn. 31:227-233. 
  • Sadegi-Nejad A, et al. 1980. Hypoparathyroidism and pregnancy: treatment with calcitriol. JAMA 243:254-255. 
  • Schneuer FJ, et al. 2014. Effects of maternal serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations in the first trimester on subsequent pregnancy outcomes in an Australian population. Am J Clin Nutr 99: 287-295. 
  • Singla R, et al. 2015. Vitamin-D deficiency is associated with gallbladder stasis among pregnant women. Dig Dis Sci. 60(9):2793-2799. 
  • Singla R, et al. 2015. Relationship between preeclampsia and vitamin D deficiency: a case control study. Arch Gynecol Obstet. 291(6):1247-1251. 
  • Sourander A, et al. 2021. Maternal vitamin D levels during pregnancy and offspring autism spectrum disorder. Biol Psychiatry. 90(11):790-797. 
  • Stafne, SN. 2020. Vitamin D and stress urinary incontinence in pregnancy: a cross-sectional study. BJOG 127(13):1704-1711. 
  • Staples J, et al. 2010. Low maternal exposure to ultraviolet radiation in pregnancy, month of birth, and risk of multiple sclerosis in offspring: longitudinal analysis. BMJ. 340:c1640.  
  • Sucksdorff M, et al. 2021. Maternal vitamin D levels and the risk of offspring attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2021 Jan;60(1):142-151.e2. 
  • Sweeney LL, et al. 2010. Decreased calcitriol requirements during pregnancy and lactation, with a window of increased requirements immediately postpartum. Endocr Pract. 1-11. 
  • US Department of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health. 2024. Vitamin D. Office of Dietary Supplements Dietary Supplement Fact Sheets. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-HealthProfessional/. Accessed July 2026.  
  • van Tienhoven et al. 2025. Vitamin D in Reproductive Health Disorders: A Narrative Review Focusing on Infertility, Endometriosis, and Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. Int J Mol Sci; 26(5):2256. 
  • Veena SR, et al. 2017. Association between maternal vitamin D status during pregnancy and offspring cognitive function during childhood and adolescence. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr 26(3): 438-449. 
  • Vieth R & Holick MF. 2018. Chapter 57B – The IOM—Endocrine Society Controversy on Recommended Vitamin D Targets: In Support of the Endocrine Society Position. Vitamin D (Fourth Edition). D. Feldman, Academic Press: 1091-1107. 
  • Vinkhuyzen AAE, et al. 2017. Gestational vitamin D deficiency and autism spectrum disorder. BJPsych Open 3(2): 85-90. 
  • Visness CM, et al. 2015. Cord blood vitamin D concentrations are unrelated to atopy and wheeze in 2 diverse birth cohort studies. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 136(4):1108-10.e2. 
  • Vollú AL, et al. 2024. Are low serum levels of Vitamin D associated with dental developmental defects in primary teeth? A systematic review. Evid Based Dent; 25(2):110.  
  • Voltas N, et al. 2020. Effect of vitamin D status during pregnancy on infant neurodevelopment: The ECLIPSES Study. Nutrients. 12(10):3196. 
  • Wadhwa L, et al. 2020. Impact of Vitamin D Supplementation on Semen Quality in Vitamin D-Deficient Infertile Males with Oligoasthenozoospermia. J Obstet Gynaecol India; 70(1):44-49. 
  • Wagner CL, et al. 2013. A randomized trial of vitamin D supplementation in 2 community health center networks in South Carolina. Am J Obstet Gynecol 208(2):137.e1-13. 
  • Whitehouse AJ, et al. 2012. Maternal Serum Vitamin D Levels During Pregnancy and Offspring Neurocognitive Development. Pediatrics 129:485-493.  
  • World Health Organization. 2023. Vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy. E-library of evidence for nutrition actions (eLENA). https://www.who.int/tools/elena/interventions/vitamind-supp-pregnancy. Accessed June 6 2024.  
  • Xu N, et al. 2025. Vitamin D Levels During Pregnancy and Dental Caries in Offspring. JAMA Netw Open; 8(12):e2546166.  
  • Zhang C, et al. 2008. Maternal plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations and the risk for gestational diabetes mellitus. PLoS One; 3(11):e3753.  
  • Zhang P, et al. 2024. Causal association between vitamin D and gestational diabetes mellitus: a two-sample Mendelian randomization study. J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med; 37(1):2427760. 

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