Vitamin D in breastfeeding is crucial for you and your baby’s health development! Let’s go over infant vitamin D drops, vitamin D breastfeeding, vitamin D drops for infant, vitamin D infant supplement, vitamin D deficiency infants symptoms, and more!
How Does Vitamin D Get Into Breast Milk?
You can increase beneficial vitamins and minerals to improve the amount of these present in your breastmilk [6].
However, this doesn’t mean that every substance you eat is present in your breast milk! For more information. on this topic, check out, Does You Diet Really Affect Your Breast Milk Quality and Supply?
Still, vitamin D levels are present in your blood, like other vitamins and minerals. But, because many of us are deficient in vitamin D, almost 50% of the population [1], many of us need supplementation for our babies to get enough vitamin D too!
Vitamin D Drops for Infant:
During pregnancy, it’s recommended to supplement with 600 IU of vitamin D daily. If you’re taking a prenatal vitamin, then this should be satisfied through that, or ensure you’re meeting this recommendation through your diet.
Next, while breastfeeding, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that your baby receives 400 IU of infant vitamin D drops daily [2].
Or, research has found that you can take 6,400 IU of vitamin D daily as a breastfeeding mother, and this will be plenty to satisfy both you and your baby’s vitamin D needs [3].
Vitamin D Drops for Infant: Are Vitamin D Drops Necessary?
It’s recommended to supplement vitamin D in breastfeeding through infant vitamin D drops or you taking a supplement because research shows that almost 50% of the population worldwide is deficient in vitamin D [1]. Not because there’s anything inherently wrong with breast milk.
Noteworthy, Canada has a similar recommendations, with greater amounts recommended in the winter months [4].
Vitamin D Drops for Infant: Why Vitamin D is Important
Vitamin D is important for:
- Calcium absorption. Therefore, preventing rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults. Plus, protecting older adults from osteoporosis [15-17].
- Healthy growth.
- Organ function.
- Promoting good bone growth and development.
- Fostering normal functioning of the nervous system.
- Reducing inflammation [15-17]
- The modulation of processes such as cell growth, neuromuscular and immune function, and glucose metabolism [15-17].
Fantastic Vitamin D Foods
Some great food sources of vitamin D for breastfeeding moms include:
- Cod liver oil
- Salmon
- Tuna
- Sardines
- Beef liver
- Egg yolk
Vitamin D Deficiency Infants Symptoms
People with severe vitamin D deficiency can experience symptoms associated with secondary hyperparathyroidism, including [18]:
- Bone pain
- Arthralgia (joint stiffness)
- Myalgias (muscle aches and pains)
- Fatigue
- Muscle twitching
- Weakness
Children with vitamin D deficiency may experience [18]:
- Irritability
- Lethargy
- Developmental delay
- Bone changes
- Fractures
Risk factors for deficiency include:
- Limited sunlight exposure. (Living in an urban area with tall buildings and/or air pollution, living in far northern latitudes, limited time outdoors, etc.)
- Darker skin pigmentation, as this requires more sun exposure to receive adequate amounts.
Can You Receive Enough Vitamin D Through Sun Exposure?
It is possible to receive enough of this vitamin through only sun exposure but it’s difficult to get enough exposure if you live in a northern region, in the winter, in urban areas, or if you have darker skin pigmentation.
Still, deficiency is pretty common even in sunny climates in the southern United States.
Which Vitamin D Drops Are Best for Babies
I recommend Wellements Organic Vitamin D Drops because they are organic, affordable, and free from dyes, parabens, alcohol, and unnecessary preservatives. Plus, they of course contain the 400 IU recommendation of vitamin D for babies!
Should I Get Vitamin D Drops with Iron?
If your baby received delayed cord clamping after birth then your baby does not need iron supplementation until it’s coming from their solids starting at 6 months of age.
This is because with delayed cord clamping, your baby is receiving all of their red blood cells and iron stores needed for the next 6 months.
On the other hand, if they didn’t receive delayed cord clamping, then you may give your baby multivitamin drops with iron or iron drops for babies, but it’s not recommended to use these before your baby is at least 4 months of age.
Vitamin D Drops for Infant: How to Give Vitamin D Drops to Baby
One way to give your baby a drop of vitamin D daily is to drop it into their mouth right before latching them to your breast to nurse.
Otherwise, if you give your baby a bottle of breast milk daily, you can add the drop into only a couple of ounces of breast milk in the bottle for them to drink.
Vitamin D Drops for Infant: Can Vitamin D Drops Cause Gas?
If you think the vitamin D drops for your infant is making them gassy, check out the “other ingredients” listed in the drops, and try another brand with different ingredients.
Various ingredients can be found in vitamin D drops for infant such as coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, palm medium chain triglyceride oil, and more!
Notably, some gassiness might be inevitable with vitamin D drops for infant, as infants aren’t meant to have anything but breast milk containing the vitamins, minerals, hydration, antibodies, carbohydrates, and fats they need!
What Vitamin D Should I Take?
To avoid potential gassiness in your baby and ensure both you and your baby are receiving the vitasmin D you need, you can meet the 6,400 IU of vitamin D by taking the Now Foods High Potency Vitamin D-3 10,000 IU Softgels.
I love and trust the Now Foods brand for supplements as I have found that they work for me. Plus, they are third party tested which is crucial for supplements! Click here to learn more about their quality and testing.
Is Vitamin D and D3 the Same?
Vitamin D comes in two primary forms that differ in their chemical structures, but are both well absorbed in the small intestine. [19]
Vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol): This vitamin D form is made from plants and is added to some foods and supplements to fortify them. Sources of vitamin D2 include mushrooms grown in UV light, fortified foods (cereals, milks, orange juice), and some dietary supplements.
Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol): The human body naturally produces this vitamin when you expose the majority of your skin to the sun without sunscreen. Vitamin D3 is also found in a few animal foods and dietary supplements. Food sources include fatty fish (mackerel, salmon, trout, and tuna), fish liver oils, beef liver, and egg yolks.
Vitamin D Breastfeeding: Test Kit
Vitamin D3 is the type our bodies produce when our skin is exposed to UVB rays from the sun. Therefore, Vitamin D3 is the supplement generally recommended to use.
But whether it’s taken in your diet or from sun exposure, it is processed within the body to its active form, 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), which is generally measured in the lab tests done by your health care provider or you can use an Everlywell At Home Vitamin D Testing Kit which I highly recommend as it clarifies it tests vitamin D, 25(OH)D.
Another type of blood test for vitamin D tests circulating 1,25(OH)2D, however, this is “generally not a good indicator of vitamin D status because it has a short half-life measured in hours, and serum levels are tightly regulated by parathyroid hormone, calcium, and phosphate [15]. Levels of 1,25(OH)2D do not typically decrease until vitamin D deficiency is severe [16].”
What Are Normal Levels of Vitamin D in Breastfeeding?
What is considered “normal” levels varies depending on who you ask.
The Institute of Medicine considers 20-30 ng/ml to be adequate [7].
The Endocrine Society states that 30-100 ng/ml will result in vitamin D sufficiency [8].
And the Vitamin D Council suggests a sufficient vitamin D level of 40-80 ng/ml [9].
Additionally, if your blood tests show as “normal,” this doesn’t determine that your baby also has normal D levels. Although, remember this research study showed that taking 6,400 IU of vitamin D daily while breastfeeding satisfied both the mother’s and baby’s daily requirements [3].
“Should I Supplement with Formula for Vitamin D While Breastfeeding?”
Would it be easier to supplement with formula?
Although very rare, I have talked to some mothers who have considered using formula to ensure their babies receive adequate amounts of vitamins. However, this would not be easier than supplementing with a vitamin itself.
Infant formula contains 400 IU per quart of vitamin D. However, supplementing with formula for a vitamin isn’t necessary and can be more difficult. Firstly, when a baby is supplemented with formula or is completely switched to it, this increases their risks of things such as:
- Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) [10]
- Diarrhea [11]
- Intestinal infections [12]
- Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) [13]
- and more
Additionally, this adds more bottles to clean and sterilize daily, getting up to make bottles, more money spent on formula than a supplement, and possibly going through trouble finding an infant formula that suits your baby well without increasing fussiness and discomfort.
Remember, babies are not meant to ingest anything except breast milk for the first 6 months of their lives until the introduction of some iron and zinc-rich foods can be added to their diets. This is largely why many babies receiving formula have GI issues and allergies.
Questions or Comments on “Vitamin D Drops for Infant While Breastfeeding”?
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Talk soon, mama!
– Katelyn Lauren
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Sources:
[1] Nair R, Maseeh A. Vitamin D: The “sunshine” vitamin. J Pharmacol Pharmacother. 2012 Apr;3(2):118-26. doi: 10.4103/0976-500X.95506. PMID: 22629085; PMCID: PMC3356951.
[2] https://www.healthychildren.org/English/healthy-living/nutrition/Pages/Vitamin-D-On-the-Double.aspx
[3] Hollis BW, Wagner CL, Howard CR, et al. Maternal Versus Infant Vitamin D Supplementation During Lactation: A Randomized Controlled Trial [published correction appears in Pediatrics. 2019 Jul;144(1):]. Pediatrics. 2015;136(4):625-634. doi:10.1542/peds.2015-1669
[4] Vitamin D supplementation: Recommendations for Canadian mothers and infants. Paediatr Child Health. 2007;12(7):583-598.
[5] Spiro A, Buttriss JL. Vitamin D: An overview of vitamin D status and intake in Europe. Nutr Bull. 2014;39(4):322-350. doi:10.1111/nbu.12108
[6] Novak EM, Innis SM. Impact of maternal dietary n-3 and n-6 fatty acids on milk medium-chain fatty acids and the implications for neonatal liver metabolism. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2011 Nov;301(5):E807-17. doi: 10.1152/ajpendo.00225.2011. Epub 2011 Jul 26. PMID: 21791621. Read here.
[7] Institute of Medicine (US) Committee to Review Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin D and Calcium; Ross AC, Taylor CL, Yaktine AL, et al., editors. Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium and Vitamin D. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2011. Summary.Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK56050/
[8] Michael F. Holick, Neil C. Binkley, Heike A. Bischoff-Ferrari, Catherine M. Gordon, David A. Hanley, Robert P. Heaney, M. Hassan Murad, Connie M. Weaver, Evaluation, Treatment, and Prevention of Vitamin D Deficiency: an Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline, The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, Volume 96, Issue 7, 1 July 2011, Pages 1911–1930, https://doi.org/10.1210/jc.2011-0385
[9] https://www.vitamindcouncil.org/about-vitamin-d/testing-for-vitamin-d/
More Sources:
[10] Stuebe A. The risks of not breastfeeding for mothers and infants. Rev Obstet Gynecol. 2009;2(4):222-231.
[11] Munir M. Infantile diarrhoea: breast and bottle feeding compared with special reference to their clinical role. Paediatr Indones. 1985 May-Jun;25(5-6):100-6. PMID: 4080396.
[12] Laura M Lamberti, Christa L Fischer Walker, Adi Noiman, CesarVictora, and Robert E Black; Breast feeding and the risk for diarrhea morbidity and mortality; BMC Public Health, 2011; 11; 13-15.
[13] Shulhan J, Dicken B, Hartling L, Larsen BM. Current Knowledge of Necrotizing Enterocolitis in Preterm Infants and the Impact of Different Types of Enteral Nutrition Products. Adv Nutr. 2017;8(1):80-91. Published 2017 Jan 17. doi:10.3945/an.116.013193
[14] Andrews L, Phlegar K, Baatz JE, Ebeling MD, Shary JR, Gregoski MJ, Howard CR, Hollis BW, Wagner CL. Comparison of Infant Bone Mineral Content and Density After Infant Daily Oral Vit D 400 IU Supplementation Versus Nursing Mother Oral 6,400 IU Supplementation: A Randomized Controlled Lactation Study. Breastfeed Med. 2022 Jun;17(6):493-500. doi: 10.1089/bfm.2021.0281. Epub 2022 Mar 10. PMID: 35271380.
[15] Institute of Medicine, Food and Nutrition Board. Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium and Vitamin D. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 2010.
[16] Norman AW, Henry HH. Vitamin D. In: Erdman JW, Macdonald IA, Zeisel SH, eds. Present Knowledge in Nutrition, 10th ed. Washington DC: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012.
More Sources:
[17] Jones G. Vitamin D. In: Ross AC, Caballero B, Cousins RJ, Tucker KL, Ziegler TR, eds. Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease, 11th ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2014.
[18] Sizar O, Khare S, Goyal A, et al. Vitamin D Deficiency. [Updated 2022 Jul 27]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK532266/
[19] National Institutes of Health. “Vitamin D (Health Professional).” August 17, 2021. Accessed on: October 6, 2021. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-HealthProfessional/
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