To Study the Prevalence of Vitamin D Deficiency in Third Trimester and Feto-Maternal Outcome.

Aim: To estimate the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in third trimester and itscorrelation with feto-maternal outcome Material and Methods: Present study was conducted 200 pregnant women who were admitted to the labor room in the third trimester in the department of Obstetrics & Gynecology of Maharishi Markandeshwar Medical College and Hospital, Solan (H.P.) for delivery after fulfilling the inclusion & exclusion criteria. Detailed history including complete demographic information, past medical history, dietary history, previous menstrual & obstetric history, any antenatal complications. Delivery details including mode of delivery, birth weight and APGAR scores were recorded on the proforma. Serum vitamin D was estimated fromthe maternal blood sample. Vitamin D deficiency was defined as 25(OH) D levels in blood less than 20 ng/ml, and insufficiency of vitamin D was defined as 25(OH) D levels between 20-30 ng/ml.Results: In this study, there was a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (93.5%) in the pregnant women though there was no significant difference in socio-demographic factors in the deficient and non-deficient group. Present study showed that the proportion of vitamin D deficient pregnant women having maternal complications and NICU admission was statistically significant as compared to the non-deficient group (p=0.0109) and (p=0.0384) respectively. Conclusion: Maternal complications, increased cesarean section rate and NICU admission weremore associated with hypovitaminosis D but any causal relationship between vitaminD deficiency and pregnancy complications was not found in this study design. Wepropose that vitamin D supplementation is simple and economical, and hence weshould incorporate vitamin D testing, increase its awareness and treat its deficiency inadolescence, pre-conceptional period or 1st trimester to avoid maternal complicationsand poor fetal outcome. Keywords: Vitamin D Deficiency, Third trimester, Fetal outcome, Maternal outcomex