BACKGROUND:

There is increasing interest in the effects of vitamin D in pregnancy and on placental function, glucose homeostasis, infection and inflammatory response, and the association of vitamin D deficiency with high-risk obstetric conditions.

OBJECTIVE:

To identify the relevant known and controversial aspects of vitamin D deficiency and its supplementation in patients at high obstetric risk, in order to provide the reader with decision-making tools for clinical practice.

METHODOLOGY:

A review of the literature registered in the MEDLINE databases via PubMed, EBSCO and OVID from 2016 to 2022 was performed. Articles published in English and Spanish were included using the MeSH terms “vitamin D”, “pre-eclampsia”, “preterm birth”, “gestational diabetes” and “fetal growth retardation”.

RESULTS:

The initial search yielded 685 articles, of which 364 were discarded for lack of relevance, 248 for lack of complete source and 44 for duplication. In accordance with the stated objective, 29 articles remained at the end, which were supplemented by 55 classic texts found in a manual search to contextualise the review.

CONCLUSIONS:

The evidence for an association between vitamin D deficiency and poor obstetric outcomes in terms of rates of pre-eclampsia, preterm birth, gestational diabetes and fetal growth restriction is inconclusive. However, analysis of the above studies shows an association between vitamin D deficiency and increased risk, with striking results consistent with the risk of gestational diabetes.