Babies of mothers who took vitamin D supplements during pregnancy had a lower chance of developing atopic eczema at 12 months of age. — TNS
Taking vitamin D supplements during pregnancy could substantially reduce the chances of babies up to a year old suffering from atopic eczema, according to a new study.
The research, published in the British Journal of Dermatology, showed that babies had a lower risk of developing atopic eczema in their first year if their mothers took 1,000 international units (IU) of vitamin D a day from when they were 14 weeks pregnant until they delivered.
The effect was particularly seen in babies who were later breastfed for more than a month, according to the study carried out by the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom.
One in six children aged between one and five has atopic eczema, which is a chronic inflammatory condition that has seen a global rise in recent decades.
More than 700 pregnant women took part in the research, with 352 taking the supplements from 14 weeks until they gave birth, and 351 taking a placebo.
“Our aim was to see whether taking 1,000IU of vitamin D (cholecalciferol) as a supplement during pregnancy would decrease the risk of atopic eczema in babies,” Dr Sarah El-Heis said.
“We also wanted to establish whether breastfeeding had any effect on this.
“Our results showed that babies of mothers who received supplements had a lower chance of having atopic eczema at 12 months, which supports recommendations for vitamin D supplements to be routine during pregnancy.
“We found no effect at 24 and 48 months, suggesting that other postnatal influences might become more important beyond infancy, or that the babies themselves might also need to be supplemented during the postnatal period for a sustained effect.”
The study also showed that taking the vitamin D supplement during pregnancy also had lasting benefits for the child’s bone density.
Guidance from the UK National Health Service says 10 microgrammes of vitamin D is needed each day during pregnancy and in darker months of the year. – PA Media/dpa
