Estimation of the maternal vitamin D intake that maintains circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D in late gestation at a concentration sufficient to keep umbilical cord sera ≥25-30 nmol/L: a dose-response, double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial in pregnant women at northern latitude.

Background: In the absence of dose-response data, Dietary Reference Values for vitamin D in nonpregnant adults are extended to pregnancy.

Objective: The aim was to estimate vitamin D intake needed to maintain maternal 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] in late gestation at a concentration sufficient to prevent newborn 25(OH)D <25-30 nmol/L, a threshold indicative of increased risk of nutritional rickets.

Design: We conducted a 3-arm, dose-response, double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial in Cork, Ireland (51.