ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that the role of vitamin D in the fetal programming of bone development has received much interest. Vitamin D is a secosteroid with classical functions in calcium and phosphate homeostasis. It can be derived from the diet as ergocalciferol or cholecalciferol, or formed endogenously by the action of ultraviolet B to convert 7-dehydrocholesterol to pre-vitamin D3 within the skin. The first study to assess the effect of antenatal vitamin D supplementation on offspring bone mineralization was undertaken by Congdon et al. and published in 1983. However, there is now increasing evidence that maternal vitamin D supplementation might be of benefit to prenatal bone development in the wider population. Two small intervention studies from India and Iran have also assessed bone mass in infants born to mothers randomized to vitamin D supplementation or placebo. Evidence from observational studies does suggest that achieving higher levels of serum 25 OHD in pregnancy might have beneficial effects on offspring bone development.
