You know that your mom and I are big advocates of vitamin D3. Here is an article I got today on pregnant moms getting their blood level checked for vitamin D, for the safety and proper development of the baby. You might want to ask your doc to have the test so you know what yours is, and then take supplements to raise it to the 35-50 ng/mL level. (It is probably low, like most of us that don't get enough sunshine).
Love, Carl
The Vitamin D Council's Effort
We recently ran a ¼ page announcement in OB/GYN News and the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology (AJOG). Unfortunately, the editor of AJOG censored our announcement after its first month, but we were able to get the full, three-month run in OB/GYN News. We also sent a very similar email to 18,000 obstetricians in the United States. The total cost to the Vitamin D Council for this campaign was about $12,000.00.
The announcement simply pointed out that the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recently recommended that all pregnant women have a 25(OH)D blood test because Vitamin D is important for normal fetal development (p. 1145):
"Given the growing evidence that adequate maternal vitamin D status is essential during pregnancy, not only for maternal well-being but also for fetal development, health care professionals who provide obstetric care should consider assessing maternal vitamin D status by measuring the 25-OH-D concentrations of pregnant women. On an individual basis, a mother should be supplemented with adequate amounts of vitamin D3 to ensure that her 25-OH-D levels are in a sufficient range (>32 ng/mL). The knowledge that prenatal vitamins containing 400 IU of vitamin D3 have little effect on circulating maternal 25-OH-D concentrations, especially during the winter months, should be imparted to all health care professionals." Wagner CL, Greer FR; American Academy of Pediatrics Section on breastfeeding; American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Nutrition. Prevention of rickets and vitamin D deficiency in infants, children, and adolescents. Pediatrics. 2008 Nov;122(5):1142–52.
As the AAP recommendation came from an official medical body, to medical malpractice attorneys it represents evidence of a "standard of care" for future lawsuits. We also reminded obstetricians that the statute of limitations on malpractice suits does not toll (begin) until the injured party recognizes the injury. That is, the parents of a 5-year-old child diagnosed with autism five years in the future may bring suit against that obstetrician for how the child was treated during his time in the uterus, citing the 2008 AAP's recommendation as a standard of care. Obstetricians are already burdened with lawsuits, but they could decrease the number of suits significantly if they would just take the time to learn about Vitamin D.
Finally, we used our last $12,000 to produce and run a television announcement in the Washington, D.C. TV market, entitled Pregnancy and Vitamin D.
What can you do?
Most people want to do good—at least some good—in their lives. The endless pursuit of the God-almighty dollar, better clothes, better houses and better vacations than your neighbors eventually leaves a hole in your soul. Here is an opportunity to fill it.
One good thing you can do is simply tell every pregnant woman and women thinking of getting pregnant that she needs to take more Vitamin D, a lot more. Pregnant women need a minimum of 5,000 IU per day and even that dose will not achieve 25(OH)D levels of >50 ng/mL in all women. Why not buy a few bottles of 5,000 IU capsules and hand out the bottles to your pregnant friends? You can get 250 vitamin D capsules for 15 bucks. Or, forward this email to them. Show them our Pregnancy and Vitamin D public service announcement.
If you want to do more, why not get a copy of our Pregnancy and Vitamin D public service announcement by emailing our webmaster at http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/releases.shtml."(the ad is not copyrighted) and then pay to run it on a TV station in your hometown? You can easily add a caption at the bottom saying this public service announcement is being sponsored by your company, combining a good deed with good business.
Alas, no glory will be yours, at least in this life. No woman will ever thank you for the schizophrenic child she never had, for the trips to the emergency room with a breathless child that she never made, for the repetitive moaning of the autistic child she never endured. Although, she may wonder why her pregnancy was so easy and why her infant is so healthy, alert, active, and smart."
John Jacob Cannell MD Executive Director. More on this article at: http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/newsletter/pregnancy-and-gestational-vitamin-d-deficiency.shtml
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