Vitamin D While Pregnant Gives Baby Healthier Teeth
Here’s another reason to take your pre-natal vitamins. Moms who get enough vitamin D while pregnant have babies with healthier teeth, according to Canadian researchers.
Moms who were deficient in vitamin D while pregnant had children who had significantly more tooth problems, such as weak tooth enamel and tooth decay.
Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium, important for healthy teeth and bones.
There’s vitamin D in prenatal vitamins, and in vitamin D-fortified milk, soy milk, and breakfast cereal. Vitamin D is also found naturally in fatty fish like salmon, catfish and tuna, and in eggs.
The sun also makes vitamin D: going out in the sun without sunscreen for a couple of minutes a day produces vitamin D in the skin. The sun helps you make vitamin D year round in the southern US, but only in the summer in the northern states. So northern moms like me definitely need vitamin D supplements, especially so in the winter.
There’s somewhat of a conflict between what we’ve all been told to do – wear a hat, wear sunscreen, wear sunglasses in the sun. I admit I do get lazy about sunscreen when I’m only out in the sun for a couple of minutes, so I guess I am making plenty of vitamin D, even though my dermatologist would tell me off.
So most dermatologists recommend covering up in the sun, and wearing sunscreen, and getting your vitamin D from food and supplements.
And once baby is born, breastfeeding moms should keep up their vitamin D supplements. Your baby’s pediatrician may recommend vitamin D supplements for exclusively breastfed babies. Formula has vitamin D added, but breast milk is naturally low in vitamin D.
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