[Vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy : what's the local situation ?]

Vitamin D deficiency is a worldwide health problem, also during pregnancy. Inadequate maternal vitamin D status in pregnancy is associated with poor fetal growth, impaired bone development and rickets in infants after birth. Furthermore, higher rates of preeclampsia and gestational diabetes are associated with low maternal vitamin D status during pregnancy. Toxicity of vitamin D is rare. Most countries recommend vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy but guidelines are controversial and inadequate compared to real mother's and child's needs. Wath's the best strategy to follow and supplement mother during pregnancy? In a study carried out at the maternity clinic Notre-Dame des Bruyères (CHU Liège), we studied for a year the vitamin D concentrations of young women at start of pregnancy and of others after delivery to evaluate the local situation and management of vitamin D status during pregnancy. We did not collect the cord blood samples in this study. However, this is a project we would like to achieve soon. This would allow us to compare the vitamin D results of the mother at the time of delivery, to those of the cord blood of their respective child.