Babies often lack vitamin D, which is important for bone development and disease prevention. Sun exposure is not recommended for babies, and breast milk may not provide enough vitamin D. Formula may be a better source, but nursing mothers can increase their own vitamin D intake and give their babies supplements.
Pediatricians and nutrition advocates often recommend vitamin D for babies because the vitamin is important in helping a baby’s bone development and may supposedly protect the baby from disease. While adults generally make their own vitamin D after exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet B rays, babies get relatively low levels of sunlight, which are insufficient to produce vitamin D. Many studies show that between 5 and 15 Percent of children between the ages of one month and two years lack enough vitamin D. Such statistics strengthen the cries of advocates of vitamin D supplements or vitamin D-fortified infant formula.
Diseases prevented by vitamin D include cancer and diabetes. It is believed that heart problems later in life are also reduced by sufficient vitamin D during the infant stage of life. Autoimmune diseases and abnormal physical development can be prevented in children with large amounts of vitamin D, according to some studies.
Many parents might consider daily sun exposure to remedy low vitamin D levels for babies. However, doctors generally warn against sun exposure for babies less than six months of age. Whenever babies of any age are exposed, doctors recommend the use of sunscreen and protective clothing, making effective natural production of vitamin D for babies unlikely.
Nursing mothers who take vitamin D vitamin tablets or who naturally produce the vitamin by regular sunbathing are sometimes able to produce enough vitamin D for babies in breast milk. However, there are conflicting studies on whether or not the amounts of nutrients in breast milk are sufficient. Some research suggests that breast milk is superior in every way, while more research suggests that vitamin D is more abundant in commercial infant milk formulas. Babies whose diets are mostly formula-anchored reportedly get 7 to 15 percent more vitamin D than babies who are breastfed. According to reports, a liter of formula a day can provide the recommended daily amount of vitamin D that babies require.
Nutritionists often advise mothers who do not wish to switch to formula over breast milk to increase the sources of vitamin D in their own diets so that breast milk can provide sufficient levels of daily vitamin D for their nursing babies. They caution that most prenatal vitamins do not have enough of this nutrient. Sources of vitamin D for lactating mothers include eggs, fish, and vitamin D-fortified cow’s milk. Nursing mothers, according to doctors, should not only take vitamin D supplements for themselves, but also give their babies special vitamin D supplements with at least a daily amount of 400 international units (IU) of vitamin D.
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