Vitamin D and the Preterm Infant

Carol L. Wagner, MD, professor of pediatrics, and Sarah N. Taylor, MD, associate professor of pediatrics, both at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, discuss the underlying function of vitamin D in fetal development and obstetric outcomes. The faculty offer guidance on how to interpret clinical guidelines for vitamin D intake during pregnancy, how to identify vitamin D deficiency in the preterm infant, and advice on nutritional supplementation.

This material was originally presented to a live internet audience on 22-Sep-2015, and was available for credit through 14-Oct-2017.

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  Sarah N. Taylor, MD, MSCR

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  Sarah N. Taylor, MD, MSCR, is a professor and director of clinical research in the Division of Neonatology in the Department of Pediatrics at Yale School of Medicine, and a professor in the Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology at Yale School of Public Health in New Haven, Connecticut. Dr. Taylor received her medical degree and completed a pediatric residency and a fellowship in neonatal medicine at the University of Miami School of Medicine. She earned a master of science degree in clinical research at the Medical University of South Carolina.  

  As director of clinical research at Yale School of Medicine, Dr. Taylor leads a team specializing in health outcomes related to maternal and infant nutrition. Funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), their research focuses on infant nutrition and gastrointestinal health with an emphasis on human milk. Studies include disparities in lactation, the biology of milk production, and the role of human milk intake in preterm infant growth and development.

  Dr. Taylor is recognized as an advocate for maternal and infant nutrition at the international, national, and local levels. Since her appointment at Yale School of Medicine she has significantly expanded the number of clinical studies. She has also established collaborative clinical and translational research relationships with prestigious academic institutions throughout the United States, as well as increasing international collaboration.

  Dr. Taylor’s initiatives have included establishing the NIH-funded Yale Neonatal NOuRISH (Yale Neonatal Nutrition Outcomes Research In Sustaining mother and infant Health) project to investigate how fetal and neonatal nutritional and metabolic exposures impact outcomes. Earlier in her career, Dr. Taylor spearheaded the South Carolina Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Collaborative’s initiative to provide donor human milk as an available supplement to mother’s milk for all hospitalized, very low-birth-weight infants in the state. 

  Dr. Taylor is a member of the executive board of the Human Milk Banking Association of North America and a member of the International Society for Research in Human Milk and Lactation. She is the author of numerous peer-reviewed books, chapters and reviews and is a frequently invited speaker at both national and international professional events.

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  Sarah N. Taylor, MD, MSCR

  Professor of Pediatrics
  Chief of Neonatal Perinatal Medicine
  Director of Neonatal Clinical Research
  Yale University School of Medicine
  New Haven, Connecticut

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  Carol L. Wagner, MD

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  Carol L. Wagner, MD, is a professor of pediatrics and associate director of the Clinical and Translational Research Center (NEXUS) at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, South Carolina. She received her medical degree from Boston University School of Medicine and completed a residency, internship and neonatal-perinatal fellowship at the University of Rochester/Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, New York.

  Dr. Wagner is a board-certified neonatologist whose research focuses on understanding the vitamin D requirements of pregnant and lactating women and their infants, as well as the long-term impact of vitamin D deficiency on health. She has been the principal or co-principal investigator of a number of clinical trials sponsored by the NIH, the Thrasher Research Fund, and the Kellogg Foundation. The studies have focused on neonatal nutrition, particularly the role of vitamin D during pregnancy and early childhood.

  Dr. Wagner is a member of the International Society for Research in Human Milk and Lactation, the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Breastfeeding and Perinatal sections, a fellow in the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine, and an elected member in the Society for Pediatric Research and the American Society for Nutritional Sciences.

  The author of more than 150 peer-reviewed journal articles, Dr. Wagner serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Human Lactation and Breastfeeding Medicine, and is an ad hoc reviewer for numerous other prestigious scientific journals.

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  Carol L. Wagner, MD

  Professor of Pediatrics
  Medical University of South Carolina
  Charleston, South Carolina