Vitamin D deficiency is common in many people thro
ughout the world, but appears more prevalent in pregnant women and is linked to poor outcomes in pregnancy, such as pre-eclampsia, premature birth and miscarriage. Women are therefore routinely advised to take vitamin D supplements in pregnancy but it is still not clear how much they should take or at what stage in their pregnancy.
Our researcher Dr Jennifer Tamblyn is investigating the role vitamin D plays in regulating the immune system in pregnancy. Vitamin D is known to enhance immune responses to combat infection, but it is also anti-inflammatory and it could be an important factor in preventing loss of the baby.
In this important, timely research taking place at Birmingham Women’s Hospital, Dr Tamblyn is exploring the impact of vitamin D deficiency in a cross section of samples obtained from women at different stages of pregnancy and with several complications of pregnancy.
Vitamin D deficiency could easily be screened for and as vitamin D is cheap and relatively safe, it could be used to treat a range of pregnancy complications in the future. Importantly, these studies could lead to vitamin D supplementation trials in pregnant women.
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