A new study conducted by the American Academy of Paediatrics has found that some infants are deficient in Vitamin D. The study involved 184 women who breastfed their babies and some of them were deficient in Vitamin D. The researchers explained that breast milk has low levels of Vitamin D and recommended that breastfed babies and babies who are given formula should get 400international units (IU)of Vitamin D after the first few days of birth. A deficiency of Vitamin D can cause the bone disease, Rickets. Sunlight contains Vitamin D but the AAP says that babies under six months old shouldn’t experience much exposure to the sun because of the risk of skin cancer. They advised that infants receive Vitamin D from a liquid dropper.
Another study from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota involved 140 mothers who breastfed their babies and 44 women who gave their babies formula and breastmilk. Over half of the mothers said they had started giving their babies Vitamin D in the past week, but only 42 percent of mothers said they had given their babies the recommended 400 IU of Vitamin D per day. The researchers said that some of the mothers didn’t know that their babies needed to give their babies the supplement daily. Other mothers said that they thought their breastmilk had adequate amounts of the supplement. Another group of mother said that they thought the formula had enough Vitamin D in it for their infants. However, the Mayo Clinic researchers said that infants need to drink about 32 ounces of the Vitamin D Fortified formula per day so that they receive adequate levels of the supplement.
Almost 76 percent of mothers said that they were consuming a multivitamin which contained vitamin D but this wasn’t enough for their babies. They need to take about 4000 IU to 6000 IU per day in order to meet their breastfed babies needs. They said that “Mothers take a prenatal vitamin after delivery, so additional vitamin D could be incorporated in the maternal supplementation routine”. About 88 percent of mothers said that they would rather take the supplements instead of giving them to their infants. The researchers advised that additional vitamin D supplements could improve babies health.
