The test kit includes a blood collection card, lancet, alcohol pad, gauze pad, bandage, and a prepaid return envelope. See here.

The results will provide you with the total Vitamin D amount in your blood, which is equivalent to 25-hydroxyvitamin D in plasma.

Vitamin D blood level in the 30-50 ng/ml, which is equivalent to 75 - 125 nmol/L, is one indicator of better overall health. Many of our practitioner partners like seeing levels even above 50ng/ml / 125 nmol/L, including up to 80ng/ml / 200 nmol/L. A double blind, randomized clinical trial found that Vitamin D supplementation of 4,000IU/day for pregnant women was safe and most effective in achieving sufficiency in all women and their babies regardless of race or geography. Vitamin D levels of 80 nmol/L ( 30 ng/ml) or greater within 1 month of delivery was considered sufficient in the study. Another double blind, randomized clinical trial found that Vitamin D supplementation of 6,400IU/day for nursing women was safe and most effective in achieving adequate Vitamin D levels in women to satisfy their nursing infants. However, Vitamin D levels of <50 nmol/L (20 ng/ml) was defined as deficient in this study, so many nursing moms may need to supplement with more Vitamin D to achieve optimal levels.

We use three drops of blood to measure your Vitamin D level. This eliminates the need to have your blood drawn at a clinic. You can collect your sample and send it through the mail from the comfort of your own home! And, it is highly accurate. Our testing partner, OmegaQuant, has led research on at-home blood testing for 30 years, and validates accuracy of the test quarterly with DEQAS (Vitamin D External Quality Assessment Scheme), www.deqas.org, an international organization established in 1989 to ensure analytical reliability of Vitamin D tests.

The prick creates a slight pinch.

There is minimal physical risk to you from the finger prick. The prick may cause a small amount of pain and bruising, and the site may bleed slightly for a time after the blood is collected. There is also a very rare chance that the stick site could become infected. If this happens, you might require medical treatment. There is a very small risk associated with the collection of confidential health information. However, we are making every effort to protect your identity.

Your results will be ready within 2 to 3 weeks of our lab receiving your results by mail.

We suggest retesting every 3-4 months, especially as needs change throughout pregnancy and postpartum. Outside of pregnancy and nursing, when your Vitamin D levels reach a desirable range, we recommend re-testing every 6 months.

It can often take 3-4 months of regular supplementation to up Vitamin D levels. We suggest retesting after 3-4 months to check if you need to increase your dosage. For pregnancy, we suggest supplementing with a minimum of 4,000IU of Vitamin D (The amount in our Prenatal Multi). A double blind, randomized clinical trial found that Vitamin D supplementation of 4,000IU/day for pregnant women was safe and most effective in achieving sufficiency in all women and their babies regardless of race or geography. For postpartum, we suggest supplementing with a minimum of 6,000IU of Vitamin D (a separate Vitamin D supplement is recommended - we will have one soon!) Another double blind, randomized clinical trial found that Vitamin D supplementation of 6,400IU/day for nursing women was safe and most effective in achieving adequate Vitamin D levels in women to satisfy their nursing infants. Some mamas, due to genetics, diet, geography, life stage, current Vitamin D levels, or other factors, may need or benefit from a higher dosage. Testing can help determine how much extra is needed.

It is possible, but rare. Vitamin D blood levels >100 ng/mL (250 nmol/L) are above the recommended range and may lead to toxicity symptoms For pregnancy, we suggest supplementing with a minimum of 4,000IU of Vitamin D (The amount in our Prenatal Multi). A double blind, randomized clinical trial found that Vitamin D supplementation of 4,000IU/day for pregnant women was safe and most effective in achieving sufficiency in all women and their babies regardless of race or geography. For postpartum, we suggest supplementing with a minimum of 6,000IU of Vitamin D (a separate Vitamin D supplement is recommended - we will have one soon!) Another double blind, randomized clinical trial found that Vitamin D supplementation of 6,400IU/day for nursing women was safe and most effective in achieving adequate Vitamin D levels in women to satisfy their nursing infants. Some mamas, due to genetics, diet, geography, life stage or other factors, may need or benefit from a higher dosage. Testing can help determine how much extra is needed.

It can be difficult to reach optimal Vitamin D levels through food and sun exposure. For example, a glass of milk has 100IUs, so you'd need 40 glasses a day (not recommended!) to reach the optimal baseline per day for pregnancy, 4,000IU (and 60 while nursing!). And, with the sun, you'd need to have pale skin, be outside with bare skin and no sunscreen at midday for hours every day to synthesize enough. This is not realistic for most modern mamas.

The results of your test will be kept strictly confidential. Your results from the test are personal and private. Records will be kept confidential to the extent provided by federal, state, and local law. Only relevant Needed and OmegaQuant team members will have the right to look at your individual test results and records. Your results will be grouped with the results from other individuals’ tests into a study. Needed and OmegaQuant may share results of this study in marketing, meetings, journals or other forums, but your individual identity will remain secret.