Vitamin D deficiency ups pregnant women's Cesarean risk

Pregnant women with Vitamin D deficiency may have a greater risk of having a Cesarean delivery, a new study shows. (File Photo)
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LOS ANGELES, Dec. 23 (Chinese media) -- Pregnant women with

Vitamin D deficiency may have a greater risk of having a Cesarean delivery, a

new study shows.

The risk of Cesarean delivery may be almost 4 times

higher for women with Vitamin D deficiency than those who have a sufficient

level of Vitamin D, according to the study conducted by researchers at Boston

University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center.

To find out the relationship between Vitamin D levels

in pregnant women and Cesarean section, the researchers examined 252 pregnant

women for two years.

The findings show that among the participants

examined in the study, 43 Vitamin D-deficient women, or 17 percent of the total,

had a Cesarean section, according to the study published online in the December

Journal of Clinical Endocrinology Metabolism.

"In our analysis, pregnant women who were Vitamin

D-deficient at the time of delivery had almost four time the odds of Cesarean

birth than women who were not deficient," study author Dr. Michael Holick said.

Previous research has linked Vitamin D deficiency

with proximal muscle weakness and suboptimal muscle performance and strength,

which may help support the new findings.