Does my baby need Vit D supplement..... and if so, why is this just now coming up?

Danelle - posted on 05/09/2010

I was never told to do it with my first son. But this time they did prescribe them. But i haven't used them. They gave me iron drops with my first son and always was constipated. And it was bad. But he's very healthy and didnt have any problems. And one month old not seems to be fine. I take pre-natal vitamins everyday. I dont want to take the risk of my son being constipated. Its not something fun to go through. I'll stick with sunlight :)

Schmoopy - posted on 05/09/2010

Vit D drops are a relatively new recommendation. Could be that your ped isn't on that bandwagon yet. I didn't do it with either of my children, and nobody in our house has rickets. But I'm not against it. If you feel you want to give it a try, I guess it couldn't hurt.

Erin - posted on 05/08/2010

Iwas told at our very first visit to start giving the baby vit D drops. I was, and still am, very suspicious. Years ago they said that there wasn't enough iron in breastmilk and that BF babies needed iron supplements. Then later they found out that the iron in breastmilk is so easily absorbed that babies do not need alot of it.



I will agree that as a culture we do not get enough vit D b/c we don't get out in the sun enough - babies and adults. But I take offense when they say that a baby isn't gettign everything she needs from BFing when both mother and baby are healthy. It undermines the BFing relationship and once again causes doubt that nature is not enough.



Secondly I would love to see the actual research that says BF babies are deficient. I am going to wager a guess that it is probably junk science OR was funded by the formula or pharmaceutical companies and is therefore biased.



Needless to say I didn't give her the drops.

Dana - posted on 05/08/2010

Lack of vit D is also linked to increased incidences of Multiple Sclerosis. I live in Northern Canada, so vit D from sunlight is limited during the winter, and there is high risk for MS in my family (my mother and sister have the disease). The neurologist told me that my sister and I should be taking 1000iu of vit D daily, and our children should be taking 400iu daily. That recommedation was supported by my physician. He started my daughter on vit D at 1 week old and I was EBF. He said that not enough is supplied through breastmilk.

Erica - posted on 05/08/2010

My pediatrician told me to start giving my 10 wk old Vitamin D suppliment. He said that some babies have trouble absorbing the Vitamin D from our breast milk.

Alyssa - posted on 05/08/2010

i have been EBF my 2month old son and my pediatrician told me from the start that if i was going to EBF, then i should give vitamin d supplements...he said that my son will get the supplement for 4-6 months...probably depending on when he starts eating some food too...he said to give either dvisol or trivisol (i found them in the enfamil brand). my baby gobbles them up every morning!

Angela - posted on 05/08/2010

I have been told about this before and it is only if your breast feeding past 1 year. My baby is 14 months and I don't give it to him and he is growing just fine.

Brandi - posted on 05/08/2010

I personally don't think it's so necessary. I was told that letting Isla spend a little time in the sun would make up for the deficiency in vitamin D.

Theresa - posted on 05/08/2010

My doc told me that all babies should get the vit D suppliment. She said that BF babies dont' get enough becuase our bodies use it. She also said there isn't vit D in formula either. We only get vit D (naturally) from the sun, since we usually try to keep our babies out of the sun they don't get any that way. She then told me that actually very few people get enough vit D and should take a suppliment since you can't OD on it.

Cindy - posted on 05/07/2010

My pediatrician suggested I use Vitamin D drops from about 4-9 months. I agree that this is a new thing. I am breast feeding my fourth and this was the first I had heard of it. New studies have recently been done and published showing that breast feed babies are deficient in Vitamin D and is leading to weak bones and bow legged issues.

Jessica - posted on 05/07/2010

You can get Vitamin D indoors - just set up a play area in a sunny room, in direct line with the rays of the sun. For colder climate moms, it works great!

Marie - posted on 05/07/2010

As long as he's getting a little sunlight each day he's fine. I had to give it to my second son when we lived in Alaska and I had him in the winter due to the fact that there is no sunlight! But in general if you are eating healthy and he's not stuck indoors all day you should be okay. But you should do what you feel is right and get all the info you need to help you make the decision you feel best about. Good luck!

Tamara - posted on 05/07/2010

Its very common here in Canada to give vitamin D, to correct for a lack of exposure to ultraviolet light.

Kathy - posted on 05/07/2010

Always get suspicious when they hand out free samples!

Jennifer - posted on 05/06/2010

Thanks for the reponses. My gut said to be speculative when she handed me my sample made by ENFAMIL as I walked out the door. (side note that I just haven't been fond of them since they harrassed my cell phone about signing me up for Enfamil begnnings for free samples of formula and coupons after I told them "No!" but they continued to call me... but what about "just in case" or maybe a friend could use them....Ughhhh..) Even if it wasn't for that, I just don't like the idea of giving him him anything he doesn't need. I'll definately do some more research, check out my prenatal vits, and ask his regualar pediatrican when I take him for follow up next week.

Melisa - posted on 05/06/2010

I had a nurse tell me the same thing, so I asked my doctor about it. She said that the prenatal vitamins she prescribed for me to take for the first year of breastfeeding has enough Vitamin D in it to give my son what he needs while breastfeeding. So, if you are taking a good prenatal with Vitamin D, you should be fine. If you aren't, I would suggest asking your doctor to prescribe one.

Mandy - posted on 05/06/2010

I've never heard of this, and I'm feeding my 2nd. I know in countries with low sunlight or women who cover up for religious reasons are recommended to take extra vit D while pregnant, as it is not something that the body stores naturally. Vit D is called the sunshine vit as exposure to sunlight causes the body to produce it. If you are eating a healthy varied diet and getting out most days then there is no need to supplement any vits at all. It doesn't have to be a gloriously sunny day either to have a benefit, any light during the day is beneficial. Obviously it's best to put on suncream and cover up in the hottest part of the day but in the UK some dr's are recommending that you allow your child (and you) to go without suncream for 30 mins a days either 1st thing in the morning or last thing before the sun goes down, it won't cause sun damage and will allow the body to get a big dose of Vit D.
Speak to regular Dr and see what they say. I live in Scotland, which hardly gets any proper sunshine for any extended period of time and there isn't an outbreak of kids with rickets.

Selia - posted on 05/06/2010

When you are pregnant, your body creates stores of certain vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin D and iron, but they become depleted by around 6 months. If you get plenty in your diet then you don't have to worry, but the vast majority of people don't get enough vitamin D. Since by 7 months most babies are on formula (yuck) I think a lot of pediatricians forget to mention this. Iron is usually not too low as so many foods are fortified with it, but if you don't get much you'll want to add that as well. If you don't want to mess with giving him drops, you can just take a supplement yourself. Also, milk, soy and almond milk are fortified with vitamin D and are good sources.