Source :NEWS18 NEWS
Last Updated:May 18, 2025, 15:35 IST
Vitamin D isn’t just for bones—it plays a vital role in fertility, pregnancy health, and even the well-being of future generations.
Ensuring optimal vitamin D levels before conception and throughout pregnancy and lactation is a simple yet powerful intervention
Often overlooked as just a “bone vitamin,” vitamin D plays a much deeper role in reproductive health—one that can influence fertility outcomes across generations.
“While its importance for calcium metabolism and bone health is well known, vitamin D is equally vital for reproductive function,” says Dr. Shilpa Singhal, Fertility Specialist at Birla Fertility & IVF, Dwarka. “Vitamin D receptors are present in the ovaries, testes, and placenta, as well as in key areas of the brain like the hypothalamus and pituitary gland, which regulate reproductive hormones. A deficiency can disrupt hormone balance, egg and sperm production, embryo quality, and even the uterus’s ability to support implantation.”
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This silent deficiency is widespread. A study published in the International Journal of Reproduction, Contraception, Obstetrics and Gynecology revealed that 64% of Indian women are vitamin D deficient. It’s particularly prevalent in women with PCOS, where it’s linked to irregular cycles and hormonal imbalances. However, studies show that vitamin D supplementation can improve insulin resistance, regulate periods, support egg maturation, and even reduce miscarriage risk.
Dr Singhal adds, “In men, low levels of vitamin D are associated with reduced sperm motility. Supplementation, especially in older men, has been shown to improve both sperm count and quality.”
More alarmingly, maternal vitamin D status can influence the health of future generations. Findings from the MAASTHI birth cohort in Bengaluru showed that 77.4% of pregnant women were deficient in vitamin D—those women were over three times more likely to develop gestational diabetes. “Deficiency during pregnancy is also linked to complications such as hypertension, preterm birth, and low birth weight, and may predispose the child to lifelong conditions like type 1 or 2 diabetes, asthma, or neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and schizophrenia,” believes Dr Singhal.
“With nearly 80% of adults globally having insufficient vitamin D levels, the implications for fertility and intergenerational health are significant,” adds Dr. Singhal. “Ensuring optimal vitamin D levels before conception and throughout pregnancy and lactation is a simple yet powerful intervention. It’s time we moved beyond thinking of vitamin D as just a bone vitamin—and recognise its critical role in fertility and future health.”
- First Published:
May 18, 2025, 15:35 IST
SOURCE : NEWS 18
