Mothers with low vitamin D levels during pregnancy are twice as likely to have children who experience language difficulties requiring clinical treatment, Australian scientists have found in research that reignites the debate on whether all pregnant mothers should be tested for deficiency.

New research from Perth’s Telethon Institute for Child Health Research has found that children of mums who had low levels of Vitamin D during pregnancy are twice as likely to have language difficulties.

The research, published in the latest edition of the international journal Pediatrics, is the largest study of its kind into the link between a mother’s vitamin D levels and the effect on her child’s speech and behavioural development