Levels of vitamin D in labour

Abstract

Introduction: The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency has been reported to range from 15% to 80%. In present study, we aimed to evaluate the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in pregnancy and it correlation with the maternal complications and perinatal outcome. Materials and Methods: A hospital based observational study was conducted at Department of obstetrics and gynecology of a tertiary care center. The aim was to evaluate the vitamin D status among pregnant women and its effect on neonatal outcome. Vitamin D levels of 200 ANC females was computed and cases were categorized as per vitamin D levels into following 4 categories: normal, hypovitaminosis, insufficiency and deficiency. Results: Normal vitamin D levels were seen in 5.5% cases only while hypovitaminosis D, vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency was seen in 59.5%, 28% and 5.5% cases respectively while 94.5% cases had decreased levels. A significant association was observed between incidence of caesarean section and vitamin D status with 71.4% caesarean deliveries in deficit group as compared to 18.2% in normal group (p Low birth weight was seen in 30.5% cases. NICU admission was seen in 46% cases. Conclusion: We therefore recommend the screening of all pregnant women for vitamin D deficiency. Considering such a high prevalence, routine supplementation of pregnant mothers with daily 400 IU vitamin D with 1000 mg calcium can be considered. Keywords: Vitamin D, NICU, Low birth weight.