Vitamin D Drops for BF babies ESSENTIAL

[cheshiremama89]

So DS is ebf and is 3 weeks old

Neither midwife nor HV told me I should be giving DS vit D drops

I found a free sample in a bounty pack and after reading about them and clear benefits I called my friend who is also a HV.

She states it is absolutely essential and couldn't believe neither MW/HV had said so!

Does else have experience of this xx

mumtoriver I just looked on Amazon and there are a zillion different brands of Vitamin d drops and pills which are way cheaper than what you are quoting. It's my understanding that Vitamin D is pretty consistent across brands so fine to get the cheapest one. (This isn't true for all the supplements.)

4 kids later living in the big smoke with limited sun exposure and no Vit D supplements. All surviving and thriving because their diet is excellent. Vit D drops for a 3 week old. Ffs

My two were BF, one born in the UK, the other in the US two years later. The US one was given the drops, as per the advice here. The UK one wasn’t.

Obi very glad that your dc's have an excellent diet, but unfortunately they are not going to get Vitamin D in their food. If you know them to have limited sun exposure, then you really are doing your dc's a disservice by ignoring the medical advice that's now available. You can't possibly know if your dc's are Vitamin D deficient if you haven't had them tested. If they are Vitamin D deficient there are many not obviously visible maladies that can result. Mood stability, sleep regulation, appetite regulation, brain function, diabetes, asthma, cancer and heart disease are only a few of the things that can be significantly adversely affected by Vitamin D deficiency.

Thanks Sofia but my kids get regular medical check ups and they are not deficient in Vit D whereas I am! Not uncommon in London women. As Londoners we are acutely aware of the dangers of this. I take supplements and am outside rain or shine 8x 20 minute periods a day which is far less than my kids. But actual sun. Doesn’t exist here!

Obi glad to hear it about your dc's. It's actually fairly unusual for people to have adequate Vitamin D levels in the Northern countries. Only something like 5-10% of the populations has adequate levels. They are still trying to understand what is it genetically about people like your dc's who despite having limited exposure to the sun, still have adequate levels. Unfortunately for most of the population, supplementation is a MUST in order to have adequate levels. For example, I live in Los Angeles and am light skinned and spend a lot of time in the sun, but both me and my dc's have had to supplement to reach adequate levels.

Well Sofia on your insight I will look into it. I know based on my last blood tests I am Vit D defficient as I said before but not unusual in london plus everyone sunscreens to the max but I know my kids aren’t based on their latest health reviews but if Vit d supplements for kids doesn’t adversely affect them even if they don’t need it I can look into that. They won’t tablets (I do) as they hate them. Even gummy vitamins they reject outright. It would have to be drops I can put in their food.

Ob1, my Dad has MS which is related to low levels of vit D in childhood.

It’s such a horrible illness I honestly wouldn’t take the chance.

I'm actually amazed at how variable levels can be. I get tested every year (family requirement when your dad is a world expert on the stuff) and I've had years where I haven't had to supplement and years when I have. It's pretty difficult to overdose on Vitamin D, so I definitely wouldn't worry about over-supplementing with Vitamin D.
By the way, my ds started taking pills vs. drops when someone (probably his dad) challenged him to swallow his pills with just his saliva. Apparently the thought of this manly challenge overrode any adversity to taking pills. (I'm not sure it would work on a girl.) But luckily, since DS has a genetic disease and takes a zillion pills a day and will have to for the rest of his life, it's been a helpful skill for him to have developed at a young age.

And low vit D is a big risk factor for women developing it Ob1 so do try and up your levels. Sorry if I sound preachy but it’s such a simple thing to avoid such a nasty illness and it can hit you so young.

Elton is your dad taking Vitamin D now? There is fairly good evidence that it can be helpful with slowing down the disease symptoms even once MS has developed.

I asked midwife after getting the vitamin D drops in the Bounty pack. She said she thought the HV would have the official line. HV said bf babies should have vitamin A, B and D and that the Bounty pack should stop promoting just D. She recommended Abidec drops. I’m still amazed I had to ask and that midwife didn’t have the answer and had to wait for HV (and given my ds’s jaundice, that means he’s 3 weeks + before I got an answer).

I would guess he is now but he’s had it a looooong time now, more than 25 years (since diagnosis and we think he prob had it for at least a decade before that) so it’s probably gone beyond the point where it could do much. It used to be relapsing remitting but it’s just progressive now.

It's my understanding that the latest research says even when the disease is just progressive, Vitamin D supplementation is still considered helpful. I looked this up last year for a staff member at my dd's school, so don't remember exactly what the articles said, but it was definitive enough for me to print them out and give them to her with strict instructions to take Vitamin D.

I’ll tell him that, thank you Sophia

Absolutely agree with everyone. I know I am Vit D deficient and take tablets but as you all rightly point out while my kids may be fine based on last health screening they may not be now between their yearly check ups so I will try and get drops for their food as an easier way to get it into them. Thanks all appreciate this thread and learning many things. X

Once baby reaches 6 months there's Nature & Nurture Baby Vitamins. They meet all the NHS recommendations for infant supplementation and use D3 which is much easier to absorb than D2. It's a nice tasting liquid and you only give a small daily dose so really easy to use. It's suitable for vegans and lasts twice as long as some other leading brands!

Student HV here. Are you taking vitamins? If so, and baby is ebf there's no need for baby vitamins.

from a student hv
maybe you need to reconsider your profession

Redsummershoes

Is that not a bit unkind? Reconsider her whole profession because she is not up to date with one area?

Apparently Vitamin D is not passed on in breast milk? I can’t remeber where I read this but it stuck in my head at the time as I was shocked by it. I think it was something to do with it being absorbed into the mother’s fat stores and thus not being in the milk. If I can find the link I’ll post it 😊

Think best thing though is to let the baby have sunlight everyday. Wrap up warm and a nap outside so your DS can make his own Vit D in addition to the drops.