According to the University of Southampton, researchers women taking more vitamin D when they are pregnant have a high chance of delivering naturally. 

Vitamin D supplementation helps women deliver naturally 

The findings of the study were published in the Journal of Public Health. The researchers analyzed data from the MAVIDOS study, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre study of vitamin D supplements in pregnancy. In the study, 965 women were assigned to take an extra 1,000 International Units per day of vitamin D during pregnancy or a control. 

The analysis demonstrated that 65.6% of those that were on Vitamin D supplements had a natural delivery or spontaneous vaginal delivery relative to 57.9% in the control group. The number of women in the vitamin D group with assisted delivery relative to the control group. Surprisingly, the number of women that required a cesarean operation to deliver the baby was almost the same. 

Lead researcher Dr. Rebecca Moon, a Clinical Instructor at MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Center, University of Southampton, said that the majority of women wish to deliver their babies naturally. She added that their work indicates that taking more Vitamin D when a woman is pregnant can help women achieve that. 

Additionally, the women that took vitamin D had little blood loss after delivery, which shows why vitamin D is important. Moon said that more evidence is necessary to inform clinical practice and public health policy.

Vitamin D helps in bone development in the child.

MRC LEC Deputy Director and MAVIDOS study leader Prof Nicholas Harvey said that vitamin D deficiency is prevalent in the United Kingdom. He explained that they have demonstrated that vitamin D during pregnancy can improve the levels of vitamin D in the mother and help bone formation in the child. According to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, all pregnant women should take 400 IU of vitamin D daily. 

The findings in the latest study add to results from the MAVIDOS study informing on the importance of vitamin D in pregnancy. It explains the importance of vitamin D in pregnancy for the development of bones in children and underlying nongenetic and genetic mechanisms.