Vitamin D could help mothers with perinatal depression, research shows

BOSTON - Vitamin D, the so-called "sun vitamin" could help women suffering from perinatal depression.

Up to 20 percent of new mothers will suffer from depression and anxiety during pregnancy or in the year after giving birth. Some take dietary supplements in an effort to reduce their symptoms but it's not clear that these measures actually help or make a difference.

So Canadian researchers reviewed dozens of prior studies and found that while polyunsaturated fatty acids and elemental metals like zinc and magnesium had no appreciable effect on perinatal depression symptoms, vitamin D supplementation seemed to provide a small to medium benefit.

This needs to be confirmed with more research before formal recommendations are made.

Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

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