Vitamin D levels in pregnancy affect childhood development
Expectant mums, take note – a deficiency in vitamin D while pregnant could hinder the development of your child’s co-ordination skills when they reach pre-school age. Tests on 7,000 motherand- child pairings revealed children’s skills for kicking a ball, balancing, jumping, holding a pencil and building a tower of bricks were lower when their mums had been lacking in vitamin D during pregnancy. Scientists believe this is due to interactions between vitamin D and dopamine in a foetus’ brain. Pregnant and breast-feeding women in the UK are advised to take a 10mg vitamin D supplement daily.