Pregnancy and vitamin D

1,25-D rises by 40% in the early pregnant decidua, meaning that its ability to dysregulate the nuclear receptors and the antimicrobial peptidesBody’s naturally produced broad-spectrum antibacterials which target pathogens. (AmPs) they express is particularly prevalent during the first trimesters of pregnancy. The subsequent decrease in immune function slows immunopathologyA temporary increase in disease symptoms experienced by Marshall Protocol patients that results from the release of cytokines and endotoxins as disease-causing bacteria are killed., resulting in symptomatic relief. But when the surge in 1,25-D disappears after pregnancy, AmP expression and immunopathology increase once again, leading to exacerbation of disease symptoms. This may explain why some women with autoimmune disease experience periods of palliation during gestation only to become increasingly symptomatic after giving birth.

The following are some of the characteristics of 1,25-D related to pregnancy:

• The 1,25-D levels increase throughout pregnancy in healthy women.¹⁾
• The level of 1,25-D is highest in the third trimester and falls soon after delivery in healthy women.²⁾
• Increased serum 1,25-D levels persist through lactation.³⁾
• High levels of 1,25-D during pregnancy can cause increased somnolence, fatigue and symptoms such as joint pain and breathing problems.
• A healthy woman will have 1,25-D manufactured by the placenta during pregnancy, but the manufacture of 1,25-D in the kidneys will be down-regulated to compensate. The kidneys of a person with advanced Th1 disease, however, have usually lost the ability to adequately down-regulate the 1,25-D level, as there is too much 1,25-D being manufactured in the inflammation, in the eyes, and in the skin.
• The interpretation of the 1,25-D data value during pregnancy will be more difficult. The 25-D levels may also be an aid to interpretation.

In pregnancy, the placenta manufactures 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, primarily in the second and third trimesters, and the level of 1,25-D will soar. It is presumably produced to strengthen the immune system of the child, but it significantly overloads the immune system of mothers who are sufferers sarcoidosis or other Th1 inflammatory diseases. This is in addition to the 1,25-D produced by the sarcoid-activated macrophages.

Women have exposure to high levels of 1,25-D during pregnancy, as it is manufactured in the placenta, apparently in an attempt to protect the fetus. However, these bacteria have subverted that mechanism, over the centuries.

So females will have exposure to high levels of 1,25-D, sufficient to allow CWD to proliferate during pregnancy.

That is why there is a high rate of diagnosis of Th1 disease post-partum, and also why women with Th1 disease may feel good during their pregnancy (high 1,25-D shuts down their immune system) but have such a hard time post-partum, as their bodies readjust.

Trevor Marshall, PhD

Immune Reconstitution Syndrome and Exacerbation of Infections after Pregnancy