Abstract
Background and aims: Vitamin D deficiency is a known pandemic problem which has thousands of bad health outcomes. The aim of the current study was to investigate the effect of maternal vitamin D, Ca, and PO4 levels on growth indexes of newborns at birth and 1 month and 3 months after delivery in pregnant women admitted to Hajar hospital of Shahrekord, Iran in 2016.
Materials and Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was conducted on 196 pregnant women admitted to the hospital. During pregnancy, 5 mL of mother’s blood and 5 mL of umbilical cord blood were taken. Serum calcium and phosphorus levels were determined immediately after sampling and then centrifuged. After collecting the samples, 25-OHD levels were measured by ELISA method. Neonatal growth indexes such as weight, height, and head circumference atbirth,1 month, and 3 months were measured. Data were analyzed using independent samples t test, ANOVA, and correlation coefficient by SPSS version 16.0.
Results: Deficiency of vitamin D, phosphorus, and calcium was observed in 76%, 1%, and 25% of women, respectively. Moreover, deficiency of vitamin D, phosphorus, and calcium was reportedin56.1%, 15.8%, and 9.2% of newborns, respectively. There was a significant relationship between calcium level in newborns and their weight and height at birth, one month, and three months of age ( P<0.05). Levels of vitamin D, calcium and phosphorus of mother and newborns were significantly correlated ( P<0.05).
Conclusion: More than two-thirds of mothers and more than half of the newborns were deficient in vitamin D. There was also a lack of calcium in one third of mothers and 9.2% of newborns, and phosphorus deficiency was observed only in 1% of mothers and 15.8% of newborns. Due to the low intake of these materials through nutrition, the supplementation of these substances, especially vitamin D and calcium, is required during pregnancy.