Pregnancy happens to be one of the greatest boons of life and if you are about to welcome a new member to your family, congratulations!
During this period, you keep no stones unturned to take maximum care of your baby and that implies caring for yourself in the best way during this phase. This means eating well, taking all the parental vitamins and doing regular exercise.
But there are certain less-known vitamins like vitamin D that deserve special attention during this time. Achieving proper amount of vitamin D is essential during your pregnancy because of certain factors.
Necessity of Vitamin D
Vitamin D is responsible for regulating the phosphorus and calcium levels in the blood in a couple of ways –
- By boosting the absorption of calcium from the foods in the intestines and
- By enhancing the reabsorption of calcium in the kidneys
Now, just like calcium and vitamin D are required for healthy bones, they are equally essential for the baby’s teeth. The teeth start forming in the uterus and therefore dental problem can be formed even before they erupt.
It is already a known fact that the calcium assists in strengthening the teeth of the foetus during the process of its development. But now scientists have brought forth a link between vitamin D and early childhood tooth decay.
Research Revelations
At the University of Manitoba, a research team formed of experts are of the opinion that babies that are born to women who have low levels of vitamin D can be subjected to enhanced risk of early childhood caries and tooth enamel defects.
These researchers analysed the vitamin D levels of 206 women in the second trimester of their pregnancy and were baffled to find that just 21 of them had adequate levels of vitamin D.
They also studied 135 infants and inferred that 33.6 percent of them had early childhood tooth decay while 21.6 percent of them had defects in their enamel.
Apart from that, it also came to light that the mothers of infants with no defect in their enamel had more vitamin D concentrations than those with infants who had enamel defects.
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In fact, the mothers of the infants with early childhood decay were reported to have considerably lower levels of vitamin D as compared to the mothers of infants who were free of dental decay. The infants with enamel decay were also more prone to early childhood tooth decay.
The result of this study has raised the concerns of the medical community and though it calls for further research, but it can mean that expected mothers must increase their vitamin intake with the help of either parental vitamin use or greater frequency of milk consumption or a method suggested by the dentist.
Conclusion – Vitamin D Is Essential for the Would-be Mothers
As a would-be mother, you may think that with so much to worry about the baby’s health you can ignore just a few teeth that are eventually going to fall out anyway! But here you need to think deeper.
The milk or primary teeth are essential for the proper development of the baby. Apart from assisting them to properly speak and chew, the primary teeth pave the way for the permanent teeth to emerge in the right way which is a question of self-esteem. Unfortunately, childhood dental decay is an epidemic that needs to be prevented from affecting your child. Though tooth cavity treatment is available, but prevention is always better than cure and with proper parental care you can prevent your child’s chances of developing oral problems later in life.
Experts suggest that irrespective of whether you are pregnant or not you must take 5 mcg of vitamin D on a daily basis and that is about 2-3 glasses of milk that is vitamin-fortified. Also, the skin can absorb natural vitamin D from the sunlight and thus just being out for 15 minutes can help you to get ample amount of the same.
So provide yourself with sufficient amount of vitamin D so that you can ensure a great oral health for not only yourself but also your little bundle of joy who is yet to arrive.
