The study conducted by the scientists at the University of Southampton showed the impact of the vitamins on baby during mother’s pregnancy.

The study on 678 children unveiled that women with high levels of vitamin D in the late stages of pregnancy were more likely to have children with greater muscle strength.

When the children were four years old, their grip strength and muscle mass were measured, researchers clarified at the study report published in the journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

“There’s some evidence that ‘fast’ muscle fibres go down in vitamin D deficiency and you get more fat in muscle,” said the lead scientist Dr Nicholas Harvey, from the Medical Research Council Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit (MRC LEU) at the University of Southampton.

“These associations between maternal vitamin D and offspring muscle strength may well have consequences for later health; muscle strength peaks in young adulthood before declining in older age and low grip strength in adulthood has been associated with poor health outcomes including diabetes, falls and fractures,” he added.

“This study forms part of a larger programme of research in which we are seeking to understand how factors such as diet and lifestyle in the mother during pregnancy influence a child’s body composition and bone development. This work should help us to design interventions aimed at optimising body composition in later adulthood and thus improve the health of future generations,” said Professor Cyrus Cooper, director of the MRC LEU.

An earlier study carried out by the Australian researchers had disclosed that women with low blood levels of vitamin D during pregnancy are more likely to have babies with language problems.

The findings, published in the journal Pediatrics in 2012, highlighted the important role that vitamin D levels play especially during the second and third trimesters in the development of certain brain regions that are involved in language learning.

Many experts recommend taking a 10 microgram vitamin D supplement daily for mothers during pregnancy.

Vitamin D may be obtained with a well-balanced diet, including various types of fish, soymilk, broccoli, egg, liver, cheese, butter and fortified milk and cereals. Getting 10 to 15 minutes of sunshine 3 times a week is also recommended.