Impact of Vitamin D Supplements on Mental Health and Milk Composition in Mothers Living in Idaho

September 11, 2026 updated by: University of Idaho

Effects of Maternal Stress on Human Milk Composition and Subsequent Infant Outcomes

Mothers of preterm infants experience exaggerated emotional stressors compared to those typically associated with new motherhood, making these women particularly vulnerable to postpartum depression. As many as 70% of mothers of preterm infants experience postpartum depression compared to only 12.5% of those delivering full-term infants. Increased stress and depression during this critical period are detrimental because they hamper a mother's ability to care for her infant and are associated with increased neonatal sepsis and mortality, decreased neonatal growth, and delayed motor and cognitive development. Postpartum depression is also associated with excessive maternal weight gain and risk for metabolic diseases, anxiety, and sleep disturbances. Stress in breastfeeding mothers can also alter circulating concentrations of some bioactive components (e.g., immunoglobulins, cortisol) that can transfer into milk. As such, understanding factors predisposing these vulnerable women to extreme levels of stress and finding ways to lower this stress and lessen its negative health outcomes on mothers and infants are important public health challenges. The March of Dimes estimates that 8.5% of births in Idaho are preterm, making this topic particularly relevant for Idaho women. Risk factors for postpartum depression in mothers delivering term or preterm infants are complex, but maternal nutrient deficiencies may be involved. Vitamin D status, for instance, is inversely correlated with risk of postpartum depression in women delivering term infants. However, vitamin D interventions have yielded inconsistent results, perhaps due to confounding impacts of geographic location, skin color, and endogenous vitamin D synthesis. Endogenous vitamin D synthesis requires cutaneous sunlight exposure, placing Idaho women at even greater risk of vitamin D deficiency - particularly in the winter when days are extremely short (only 7 hr on the winter solstice). The impact of maternal vitamin D supplementation during lactation on infant variables (e.g., vitamin D status) has been examined. However, its effect on maternal mental health has not been rigorously studied - let alone in the 'frontier and remote' (FAR) rural West, including Idaho, with short periods of wintertime sunlight and poor access to healthcare. Our long term goal is to develop interventions to improve maternal and infant health in Idaho - particularly in the context of preterm births. The overall primary objective of this proposal is to determine if maternal vitamin D supplementation improves vitamin D status and mental health in Idahoan mothers of preterm infants. Our central hypothesis is that vitamin D supplementation improves vitamin D status and reduces stress and other indicators of poor postpartum maternal mental health in Idaho women delivering preterm infants. Secondarily, we will assess the effects of maternal vitamin D supplementation on human milk composition.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
80

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Idaho
      • Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, United States, 83814
        • Recruiting
        • Kootenai Health
        • Contact:
          • Brook Lane, MD
          • Phone Number: 208-625-4000
          • Email: BLang@kh.org
        • Contact:
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Brook Lane
      • Moscow, Idaho, United States, 83844

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Mothers (>/= 18 years of age) of newborn infants (within first 4 months postpartum) in Idaho

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Mothers (<18 years of age) of newborn infants (within first 4 months postpartum)
  • Infants not anticipated to survive >72 hours

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Triple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Vitamin D
Dietary supplement: Vitamin D (Cholecalciferol )
2,000 IU Vitamin D
Placebo Comparator: Placebo Control
Other: Placebo
Placebo

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Maternal Vitamin D status
Time Frame: baseline, 4-week, 8-week
Blood vitamin D concentration
baseline, 4-week, 8-week
Maternal Stress
Time Frame: baseline, 4-week, 8-week

Maternal stress measured by the validated questionnaire: Perceived Stress Scale (PSS).

The PSS can range from 0 to 40 with higher scores indicating higher perceived stress:

0-13 = low stress 14-26 = moderate stress 27-40 = high stress
baseline, 4-week, 8-week
Maternal Depression
Time Frame: baseline, 4-week, 8-week

Maternal depression measured using the validated questionnaire: Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale.

The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale can range from 0 to 30 with higher scores indicating higher depression. Any total score >10 indicates depression.
baseline, 4-week, 8-week

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Maternal Self-Compassion
Time Frame: 8-week
Maternal self-compassion measured using the validated Self-Compassion-Short Form
8-week
Maternal physiologic stress
Time Frame: baseline, 4-week, 8-week
Blood and salivary cortisol
baseline, 4-week, 8-week
Physiologic Maternal Self-compassion
Time Frame: baseline, 4-week, 8-week
Blood oxytocin concentrations
baseline, 4-week, 8-week
Milk Immunomodulatory Composition
Time Frame: baseline, 4-week, 8-week
Milk Immunomodulatory protein concentrations
baseline, 4-week, 8-week

Other Outcome Measures

Other Outcome Measures

For clinical trials, a planned measurement described in the protocol that is used to determine the effect of an intervention/treatment on participants. For observational studies, a measurement or observation that is used to describe patterns of diseases or traits, or associations with exposures, risk factors, or treatment. Types of outcome measures include primary outcome measure and secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Maternal Diet
Time Frame: baseline, 4-week, 8-week
Diet assessed using 24-hour diet recall
baseline, 4-week, 8-week

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of Idaho

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
December 4, 2024

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
May 31, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
May 31, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
April 2, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
April 2, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
April 9, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
September 15, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 11, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
September 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • IRB 20-024
  • P20GM152304 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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