Adequate Vitamin D Can Improve Fertility Outcomes
If you’re undergoing fertility treatments, such as In Vitro Fertilization, fertility medications or surrogacy, a recent study has found that vitamin D can help you or your surrogate achieve better fertility outcomes. A group of researchers led by Justin Chu, PhD, of the University of Birmingham in the UK reported that those “with adequate vitamin D were 33% more likely to achieve live birth than those with deficient or insufficient levels.” (Human Reproduction, online) Testing for vitamin D is an inexpensive process and is widely available. Correcting vitamin D deficiency could benefit women undergoing fertility treatments, says Dr. Chu, but further research is needed to test this. Talk to your doctor about the benefits of vitamin D as well as the risks, as an overdose on vitamin D can lead to too much calcium build-up in the body. This study will continue to focus development on practice guidelines to measure vitamin D in women, specifically those trying to conceive.