Maternal vitamin D levels and the risk of perinatal death.

<bold>Objective: </bold>To determine the association between maternal vitamin D levels and perinatal death.<bold>Methods: </bold>A retrospective cross-sectional study of all non-anomalous, singleton births (≥24 weeks) with perinatal death compared to a matched control group. Only pregnancies with a recorded vitamin D level at booking (8-19 weeks gestation) were included for analysis. Maternal vitamin D levels were categorized into normal, deficient and insufficient cohorts and variables compared between the three groups.<bold>Results: </bold>There were 31 perinatal deaths which were compared to 111 controls. Median vitamin D levels were lower in the perinatal death cohort compared to the control group (55 nmol/L versus 64 nmol/L, p = 0.43). There was no significant increase in deaths between the normal and deficient (p = 0.33) or insufficient (p = 0.09) groups.<bold>Conclusions: </bold>Low maternal vitamin D levels at booking were not associated with an increased risk of perinatal demise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]