ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: Evaluate vitamin D supplementation and vitamin D status during normal pregnancy in Martinique, a Caribbean region with sufficient sunshine for endogenous vitamin D production all year around; and "to validate" or not the necessity of supplementing pregnant women with vitamin D in Martinique. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A prospective evaluation of their vitamin D status was performed over a winter four-month period on 63 healthy women seen at term delivery. Maternal blood sampling for assays of serum 25 (OH)D, calcium, phosphates and alkaline phosphatase activity was realized in working room. All included women answered a questionnaire allowing to know various parameters known to influence vitamin D and calcium status, as their origin, their food habits, their exposure to sunshine, their supplementation or not with vitamin D during pregnancy. RESULTS: The sample represented 15% of the pregnant women seen in the department over the study period; 16% of the women had received vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy; at delivery, mean 25-(OH)D serum level in the total cohort was 32.6+/-10.7 ng/ml, with no value below 13 ng/ml; serum calcium and phosphates levels were in the normal range. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that, during normal pregnancy, and in the absence of any particular risk factor, systematic vitamin D supplementation is not required in the Martinique region.