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# Infantile pneumonia
- URL: https://www.foodconsumer.org/infantile_pneumonia_0510110815/
- Published: 2011-05-10T21:13:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-15T13:15:25.000Z
- Description: The Vitamin D Council's John Cannell flags a Pediatrics study in which infants born to women with the lowest cord-blood vitamin D levels were six times more likely to develop RSV bronchiolitis in their first year. He argues the 600 IU/day advice for pregnancy is inadequate.
- Author: Food Consumer
- Tags: Vitamins, Nutrition, Vitamin D, Pneumonia, #vivvo-import

Vitamin D CouncilMay 11, 2011

Pregnant women – like the rest of us – have a choice to make. Do we wait for the hundreds of randomized controlled trials that are currently being conducted to see if vitamin D helps, or do we act now, on what we know now?

Today, pregnant women – and the rest of us – learned that pregnant women with the lowest vitamin D levels had infants that were six times more likely to get the most common cause of viral pneumonia over the first year of their life. 

[Mirjam E. Belderbos, et al Cord Blood Vitamin D Deficiency is Associated With Respiratory Syncytial Virus Bronchiolitis. Pediatrics, May 11, 2011, *(doi: 10.1542/peds.2010-3054)*](http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2011/05/05/peds.2010-3054.abstract?ref=foodconsumer.org)

As I write this, the paper is not yet indexed in PubMed but I found some evidence it was rushed to publication (percentages of women using vitamin D supplements in the next to last row of Table 1 on page 1516 are reversed). However, what I liked was the authors intimation that current recommendations of 600 IU/day for pregnant women by the National Academies(the Food and Nutrition Board) are woefully inadequate. A number of studies exist showing vitamin D deficiency is a risk factor for infantile pneumonia, but this was a prospective study of vitamin D levels, a type of study that is as close to a randomized controlled trial as you can get, while we wait.

[Cevallos M. Vitamin D might be associated with risk of lung infection in infants. Los Angeles Times, May 11, 2011.](http://www.latimes.com/health/boostershots/la-heb-vitamin-d-infants-20110509,0,3243579.story?ref=foodconsumer.org)

The National Academies says that 600 IU/day is all pregnant women need and that 5,000 IU/day is dangerous. However, vitamin D scientists take an average of 5,000 IU/day.

[Mittelstaedt M Scientists taking vitamin D in droves Jul. 22, 2010](http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health/scientists-taking-vitamin-d-in-droves/article1649132/?ref=foodconsumer.org)

We all have a choice to make, while we wait.

John Cannell, MD

(Dr. Cannell is director of Vitamin D Council.org)