Vitamin D is essential for your baby's health. Without enough vitamin D, your baby can have problems now and later in life. There are natural sources of vitamin D, but your baby might not be able to get enough. Supplementation might be necessary for your baby to stay healthy.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is a hormone-like vitamin that works with calcium to keep your baby's bones strong. Without vitamin D, your baby's body cannot absorb calcium from the food it eats. This causes calcium to be taken from your baby's bones. As Dr. Nicholas Bishop noted in the August 1999 "New England Journal of Medicine," vitamin D deficiency can cause rickets, a disease that makes your baby's bones soften.
Needs
Your baby doesn't need much vitamin D to to stay healthy. According to the National Institutes of Health, the amount of vitamin D that your baby needs to eat to prevent rickets is only 5 mcg per day, which is the same as 200 international units (IU) per day. This is the amount supplied by food.
Natural Sources
Breastmilk is an excellent natural food for your baby, but it has almost no vitamin D in it, no matter how much the mother gets. Fortunately, when your baby's skin is exposed to sunlight, it will make its own vitamin D. In an article published by MF Holick in the December 2004 "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition," it was determined that five to 10 minutes of exposing the hands and face to sunlight could produce enough vitamin D. Holick also determined that this could change depending on the time of the year and other factors.
Supplements
Because of nutritional and sunlight variances, many experts recommend giving a breastfeeding baby vitamin D supplements. These are usually administered by drops that are either put into the baby's mouth or on the nipple before breastfeeding. If your baby is not breastfed, most commercial baby formulas are fortified with the proper amount of vitamin D. Although cow's milk is fortified with vitamin D, giving it to your baby before she is 1 year old can cause dangerous allergic reactions.
Considerations
Although your baby needs vitamin D, too much of it can be dangerous. The National Institutes of Health says that more than 25 mcg---or 1,000 IUs---can cause vomiting and weight loss. On the other hand, a study published by Dr. Carol Wagner in the October 2008 issue of "American Academy of Pediatrics" claimed that the recommended level of vitamin D for babies should be doubled to 10 mcg per day. As of 2010, however, the level of vitamin D recommended for your baby is 5 mcg per day.
References
- "New England Journal of Medicine"; Rickets Today --- Children Still Need Milk and Sunshine; Dr. Nicholas Bishop; August 1999
- National Institutes of Health: Dietary Supplement Fact Sheet - Vitamin D
- "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition"; Sunlight and Vitamin D for Bone Health and Prevention of Autoimmune Diseases, Cancers, and Cardiovascular Disease; MF Holick; December 2004
- "American Academy of Pediatrics"; Prevention of Rickets and Vitamin D Deficiency in Infants, Children, and Adolescents; Dr. Carol Wagner; October 2008
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