Baby Nutrition Care

Pregnant woman who drink very little milk, have a greater risk of giving birth an infant with low birth weight. A research shows that this is related to the vitamin D in the milk.

Pregnancy is a special time when one must pay attention to a healthy and balanced diet in order to reduce the risk of micronutrient deficiencies. In this case, vitamins and minerals play their roles and contribute their importance for the proper conduct of the pregnancy. Women who want to get a child, be sure to do well to look at a sufficiently high intake of vitamin B9, also called folates, and if necessary takes supplements. A deficiency of vitamin B9 at the time of conception and in the very early stage of pregnancy increases the risk of growth retardation because of severe deformity.

Vitamin D is not the only vitamin required for proper development of the baby. A new study shows that vitamin D is very important and it is the main factor that causes the giving birth of babies with low birth weight.

It is relatively easy to demonstrate this. The researchers carried out an experiment on a group of pregnant women where their daily consumption of milk was recorded. Then, the birth weight of their babies was also recorded after giving birth.

It was remarkable that the weight of babies for the women who drank milk during pregnancy was higher. The mothers with less milk consumed per day (250 ml), averaged 110 g less compared with mothers consumed with more milk. The study even noted that with each additional glass of milk a day, the weight of the newborn was 41 g increased.

This effect is due to the vitamin D in milk and not to other components mainly from specific proteins and calcium exists in the body. The pregnant women are recommended to drink enough milk during pregnancy. If necessary, they are advised to discuss with their doctor whether or not they need a supplement. On top of that, regular milk drinking habit at the time of menopause is also favorable. This is because vitamin also contributes to the strength of calcium in the bones and protects against the risk of osteoporosis.