The role of vitamin D in a healthy pregnancy

For a pregnancy to proceed to term, early modulation of the immunologic response is required to induce tolerance to the fetus. Growing evidence suggests that vitamin D deficiency may affect this process and may play a part in recurrent pregnancy loss.

A new review in the American Journal of Reproductive Immunology sheds light on the immunological changes that occur in early pregnancy and the regulatory role vitamin D has in the maintenance of this delicate balance.

"It stands to reason that an immunocompetent mother would muster an immune response against the fetus. Nevertheless, in reality this does not occur due to various fetomaternal interactions which induce tolerance, of which the exact mechanism, though extensively studied, remains to be clarified," the authors wrote. "Recently, it has come to light that vitamin D may play an integral part in the induction and regulation of this critical immune tolerance process."