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6th January 2006 Vitamin D for mums 'makes stronger babies' Giving expectant mums Vitamin D could ensure their babies grow stronger bones in later life, according to new research. The research from Southampton General Hospital which is published in the Lancet, studied 198 women, looking at their levels of the vitamin. Nine years after the babies' delivery, the team traced 198 of the original 596 mothers who remained in the Southampton area and measured their children's bone mineral content and bone mineral density. The results indicated that the children of those who lacked the vitamin had weaker bones at age nine. Vitamin D is essential for the body to absorb calcium which helps with bone formation. It can be taken in supplement form or by exposure to more sunlight which helps the body to increase its levels. The research showed that mothers who either had more sunlight or took suuplements had children with greater bone density. Professor Cyrus Cooper, who led the team, said the findings provided evidence that maternal vitamin D status during pregnancy influenced the bone growth of offspring and their risk of osteoporosis in later life. Professor Cooper now wants to carry out a study to see whether supplementation of vitamin D deficient pregnant mothers could lead to stronger bones in their babies in later life. However, Professor James Walker of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists advised that women with normal levels of Vitamin D were fine. "It was only when levels were deficient that there was a problem," he said. "More vitamin D is not necessarily good." "Therefore, no woman should take extra vitamin D in pregnancy unless recommended by their doctor." Where to next?
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