Does Anyone Have Any Info. on Breastfed Only Babies Needing Vitamin D?

Either drops or morning a little morning sun.

FYI - I have breastfed 5 children over 20 years (they are 5 years apart) with each one I was prescibed a different supplement... they are all healthy kids :)

Yes, this is true. I read it in an article (can't remember where), and my pediatrician also recommended it to me. You can find the vitamin D drops at any store. I brought the Target brand.

I give my baby multi-vitamin drops and the Dr. said it was because breastfed babies don't get all the vitamin D they need.

Yes, I have 2 kids. One born in 2002, and I was never told about the vit D drops, but for my son who was born in 2005, I had to give him drops. I did and I didn't, I didn't break my back trying to remember to give it to him every day, and he is fine, never been on antibiotics!

As long as you are taking a prenatal vitamin, the vitamin has the required vitamin D you need :)

If you are eating a balanced diet your breast milk has everything your baby needs. And actually I read a study that said even if you are not eating a balanced diet all the time your breast milk won't be defficient, but YOUR body/health will suffer. I have a feeling the formula companies start those rumors about needing to supplement.

I think this is a new thing that some doctors are recommending. I nursed twins then a daughter, and never had that come up, then for baby #4 the ped we saw for her suggested the drops too...I was nursing exclusively and thought it was unnecessary...so I didn't do it, and she has been very healthy. i am certainly not knocking it, if other respond that they did use them, i just thought it odd that i only heard of this now after having soo many kids :)

Both of my babies were breast fed only. My doctor said whether or not you need vitamin D drops depends on what part of the country you live in and how much sunlight exposure they get. We live in CA so we did not do any vitamin D drops. Hope this helps.

My ped also recommended it for my breastfed baby. Doctor said that they aren't sure how much VitD is transfered from mom to baby via breastmilk so they suggest to supplement.
VitD smells bad so I assume the taste is bad as well. Since half of the dose is usually spit out or runs down her chin, I usually give it to her while in the bath (so it doesn't get all over her clothes or mine!).
I've never heard of a baby od-ing on VitD, so even if it isn't 100% necessary, I don't think it hurts.

No, but if the baby needs vitamin D you can just sit them by a window or take them outside to get sunlight. There body will soak up the vitamin D.

I remember asking my pediatrician about this and his opinion was that it was necessary for children raised in places where they weren't exposed to the amount of sunshine that our CA babies get. We're lucky enough that our little ones can soak up enough just in our regular trips out and about.

Hope that helps!

Hola D.,

My name is Taca and I am from Argentina. I have not heard of the drops, but since in my country we are strongly committed to breastfeeding, we are also told by our doctors that the baby needs some sun light (preferably during the morning time) in order to produce the Vitamin D.

However, is not that we get to have that much sun light in San Francisco, for what I have that same concern too. Maybe the lack of sun is the reason for the drops as a supplement. I wouldn't worry about it, but as the doctor if that's the reason.
Good luck!
Taca

Yes, my pediatrician reccomended Vit D for my daughter. She said that if she doesn't get at least 13oz of formula a day, she needs the Vit D supplement. She said that it has been known to help infants in the long run.....

My pediatrician said the same as the rest of them. It was unnecessary due to where we live. Now that it is getting nicer outside, I make it a point to take him outside as often as possible, either for a walk to to just sit on a blanket in the grass.

Yes, you are supposed to give that to them every day, since they don't get that in the breastmilk.
A.

my pediatrician addressed my question about this by stating she would prescribe it as part of a vitamin with fluroide at 6 months.

My pediatrician recommended it too but my son hates the drops. I am a physician (NOT PEDS) so did a literature review. I didn't find any hard evidence, just recommendations to use it. However, in adults we are seeing a lot of vitamin D deficiency and it seems to be linked to many bad things besides just osteoporosis- cancers, obesity, muscle pain, etc. We don't know if it is causative or just a link (i.e.,whatever caused the vit D def also caused the cancer).

So- no specific advice but here is what I have done-I now take the nasty tasting drops that he won't take (he's almost 6 months now) and I just try to get him short bouts of sunshine every day when possible.

Hi D.,

I spoke with my pediatrician about this and he said that we are lucky to live in California because if your baby gets between 10-30 minutes of sun a week (which is so easy here and it doesn't even have to be direct, he/she could get it coming in the window), that is all they need to get the proper amount of vitamin D. I nursed him until he was 11.5 months old. Maybe check with your ped.

Best,
J.

Even though my 2 breastfeed babies grew up in ALaska there is no need for Vit D suppliments.
There is so much sunshine here that I don't see any reason for it unless your child has a rare illness.

Hi D. C,
Have a look at this webpage... Basically what it say is if your baby get enough sunlight during the day, there is no real need to supplement.

http://www.llli.org/NB/NBvitamins.html

Here are a couple of other notes about vitamin supplements!

Vitamin D is absorbed two ways: from food/drink and from the sun. As babies generally aren’t kept out in the sun, a deficiency could possibly form if a nursing mother is vitamin deficient. Many experts agree that as long as the mother is eating a balanced meal and the baby gets adequate time outdoors, there is no need for vitamin D supplements.

So, how much sun is enough sun? That all depends on age, skin-type, and climate. Darker skinned infants absorb vitamin D much slower than fairer skinned infants when out in the sun. Be careful of too much sun exposure, as babies do burn quite easily. Just a little stroll around the yard each day should suffice. If you live in a northern climate with a lot of cloud coverage, your pediatrician may insist on vitamin supplements.

Although it isn’t always necessary, many pediatricians will just prescribe the vitamin drops to breastfed babies across the board. You may want to research further if you are uncomfortable with administering additional vitamins. A lactation consultant would be the best person to speak to on the matter. Remember, you want the best for your child and the opinion of one person may not be it.

I asked our pediatrician about this and she recommended we give our son polyvisol - the one without the supplemental iron, since he didn't need more iron. We give this to him every night in his bottle (expressed breastmilk) because he doesn't like the taste of it on it's own.

I've read you don't need to do this after 6 mos. or so, when children will get vitamin D naturally from exposure to the sun.

I have. My peditrician told me that my daughter should get the drops since breast milk doesn't have a lot of vitamin D in it. I give it to her once a day. I had to do that with my middle child as well.

My Ped said it was not necessary since we live in Sunny California. The kids get enough from natural sunlight. He said if i wanted to do it I could(he recommmended Tri Vi Sol) and it wouldnt hurt, but wasnt needed. I ended up give my DD the supplements during winter time and not spring & summer, just for peace of mind.

I don't have any info per say other than my pediatrian recommended it so we gave our daughter the drops. I am one that does my own research, but ultimately listens/does what my ped recommends. I breastfed my daughter for 7 months and stopped the drops when she went to formula. The drops did change the color of her BMs but she had no problem with them. Hope this helps!

Hi D.,

I would like to share my rickets story with you.

My daughter (caucasian--british/swedish/american/italian) was born in sunny California in the summer, moved to sunny southern Italy at 12 months, was breastfed until she was about 15 months old, and was very irregularly given her vitamin D supplements (we never took it seriously). Eventually, after a long sunny beautiful Sicilian summer, she was diagnosed has having a mild form of rickets (by three different doctors, just to make sure), and given calcium, vitamin D and magnesium, which at 20 months she still takes religiously.

In retrospect, this should have been evident to our SF pediatrician too (who actually was always making sure we would give her a vitamin supplement), and somehow it was not. And in retrospect, considering how evident the symptoms were and how much I had read about it, this should have been obvious to me as well (large skull, walked late, very disturbed sleep).

When still in SF, in July, I met a medical graduate student who is writing her thesis precisely on the astonishing resurgence of rickets in the Bay Area in the last 20 years, mostly related to the return to exclusive breastfeeding. So, my suggestion is to give your baby Vitamin D, just to be on the safe side.

As a side note, for this unpredictability of rickets, I discovered that in Europe doctors prescribe extra magnesium (which is also responsible for calcium absorption) to pregnant and breastfeeding women. Apparently we need more than the amount present in prenatal multivitamins and minerals.

I talked to my pediatrician and this is a concern for dark skinned children, especially those in northern areas in the winter. Basically, if your kid gets a little sunshine every day, he/she should be fine without the drops. If your child has dark skin, you might need the drops because that great pigment can provide a little too much sun protection where sunlight is scarce.

I think this differs from pediatrician to pediatrician. For example, in my Mom's group, some were advised to give vitamen D supplements by their pediatrician and others were not. I never gave our son the vitamen, since when I inquired wiht my pediatrician she said it was not necessary. I am not planning on supplementing with my second son either. I breastfed exclusively, so I am not sure why some doctors recommend the supplement and others do not. I am sure this response doesn't help much, but thought I would let you know it seems to vary dramatically depending on your physician.

We have four kids, all brestfed into toddlerhood. Each child was born in a different state. Alaska, Oregon, Florida and now California (my husband's in the Coast Guard). Our doctor only reccommended drops for our Alaska baby and then only in the winter. Most babies are just fine without the drops unless you are avoiding the sun for some reason.

My understanding is this:

Breastfeeding is natrual so you would think breastmilk had everything your baby needs. However, strapping your baby to your back while you work outdoors for 10 hours a day is also natural. So, "naturally," your baby would get vitamin D from the sunshine everyday and everything else from your milk.

Since I take it you are not a day laboror, and if you are that you don't take your baby to work with you, I'd say do the vitamin drops :-)

Asian and African American babies are at higher risk for VitD deficiency. If you are neither, then there is less concern.

About 15-20 minutes of sun exposure a day will ensure enough sunlight for adequate production of VitD by the body. The body can also store up VitD in the even you are cooped up for a week or 2.

I wouldn't worry about it. My husband and I are Asian and we don't worry about it. My ped is Asian and isn't worried about it. We get enough sun here and we take our son out to play a lot.

My pediatrician recommended that we give our baby vitamin D supplements when he was around 2 or 3 months...i tried giving it to my son, but he hated taking it. I tried mixing it in formula/breastmilk but he wouldnt drink it...i wasnt sure if it tasted bad. either way, I ended up giving up on the supplements -- i take a multivitamin myself, and i breastfeed. So im sure he's getting some from me. Also, I started feeding him solids at 4 months...his infant cereal is fortified with a lot of vitamins so he got some from there too.

Hi D.. I have a 6 month old little boy and I just asked his pediatrician about this on Thursday. He said that studies have shown in the past that babies in upper latitudes (Oregon and higher) had a much greater need for Vitamin D. California babies were pretty safe with the doses they get from the sun where we live. But he did go ahead and perscribe a Multivitamin Drop that includes Vitamin D and Flouride because in Placer county the Flouride levels are not high enough in our water. It will help prevent cavities as our little ones are developing teeth. I hope this helps!

there's some good information on kellymom.com here:
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/vitamins/vitamin-d.html

HI D.,

As far as I know you can get all the vit. D for her or you from 10 minutes of direct sunlight per day (no sunscreen). this is the best and most bioavailable source. As you probably know, Vit. D is one of the most important tools against cancer.

Best,
R.

Many pediatricians recommend it for new babies, especially if they are born in winter time and are therefore less likely to be taken out into the sunlight in the first few months of their lives. My daughter was born in the beginning of December, and the ped recommended the vitamin drops but said they were not necessary since, as mentioned in another response, we live in an area of the world that is bathed in sunlight even in the middle of winter.
As long as your baby nurses well and often and is a good size, its not imperative that you give them those drops - its really hard to get them to swallow the stuff too, since it is the most DISGUSTING thing you will ever taste - I just couldnt bring myself to keep forcing the stuff into my newborn when it was making us BOTH gag. I just made sure to eat and drink foods high in vitamin D, and took the baby outside often or would lay her in the sun inside the house on a blanket every day.

This came up when my oldest was an infant (he's 5 now). The pediatrician recommended the vitamin drops (mostly because the APA does), but after looking into it more on my own, I found that the babies who had the most trouble with lack of Vit. D are either dark skinned (so they don't absorb it from the sun as readily) or live in northern latitudes where cold weather/lack of sunlight make an impact on them. The idea is that the modern way of using sunscreen all the time keeps us from getting vitamin D naturally. Milk and formula are enriched, but breast milk can't be, so they suggest supplements for it. I didn't do it with either of mine (even though we were in the rainy NW) and they didn't get rickets!

This is a myth. Babies are born with a store of vitamin D that should hold them until until they start eating solid food. The only time it is necessary is if the mother's diet is poor and she is vitamin D deficient. Remember too that the sun provides vitamin D. A little outside exposure is important.
Check out this article from Mothering magazine. This is very informative and helpful: http://www.mothering.com/articles/new_baby/breastfeeding/...
Also, this web site is a great resource for breast feeding mothers: http://www.breastfeeding.com/
Good luck.

Not usually, unless you live somewhere extremely cloudy, without access to the sun. Otherwise, just take your baby out for about 15 minutes during the mid-day (preferably with arms/legs exposed to soak up the rays). If it's too chilly outside, just place the baby by a sunny window. That's how we usually get our vitamin D.