Effect of Vitamin D Supplementation on Vitamin D Levels of Term and Preterm Neonates and their Mothers: A Clinical Trial Study

Background: Vitamin D deficiency is a worldwide issue and the effect of vitamin D supplementation alone as a possible option to prevent that is still under examination. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of vitamin D supplementation on term and preterm neonates and mothers for 4 months. Materials and Methods In this clinical trial, 30 term neonates and 30 preterm neonates along with their mothers created a total of 120 participants who were referred to the maternity unit of Vali-e-Asr hospital in Birjand, Iran, in 2018. Neonates and mothers were supplemented with vitamin D supplementation of 400 IU/day and 50,000 IU/month of vitamin D drops and tablets, respectively. Serum vitamin D levels of mothers and infants were measured during delivery, birth and after 4 months using ELISA method. P<0.05 was considered as a significant level. Results: The level of vitamin D in term and preterm neonates was 24.53 +/- 10.93 and 41.30 +/- 12.87, 19.45 +/- 8.88 and 43.78 +/- 15.51 ng/ml at birth and at 4 months of age, respectively. There was a significant difference between the mean level of vitamin D at birth and 4 months later in both infants and mothers (P<0.001). There was also a significant positive correlation between vitamin D levels of mothers during labor and neonates at birth (P<0.001). Conclusion Although vitamin D deficiency was high, regular consumption of vitamin D supplements has a significant effect on vitamin D levels and could increase the level of vitamin D to the normal levels, particularly in neonates.