To think that majority babies do not need vitamin drops

[Reallytired]

Why should my daughter need vitamin A, C and D supplements? She can get vitamin A and C from food and her skin will manufacture vitamin D.

Unless you are very dark skinned, the baby lives under a Burka AND has a poor diet, I fail to see why vitamin drops are necessary. I also think that telling a mother that her baby needs vitamin drops can undermine breastfeeding.

Are health visitors on commission? It would be interesting know if there is any research that shows that the promotion of vitamin drops makes a difference.

weloveyoumisshannigan, I do hear you and wish I'd given mine Vit D drop when little. Now I do rely on the sun in summer (we live in the south) to see them through the winter, and Vit D foods. I'm not mad keen on supplements, but I think the case for Vit D for babies is pretty good.

so south of birmingham its ok then? even a mile? 'ave you got a link?

And apparently you can only make 10% of the necessary vitamin D from the food you eat, so that's 90% you need to get from the sun, or supplements.

I have to admit that in winter, although I'm outside for at least an hour a day, I'm wrapped up from head to foot and have SPF 15 moisteuriser. So that's probably 0 vitamin D for me.

www.guardian.co.uk/society/2007/dec/28/socialexclusion.health

This article covers all of the basic facts.

I asked my hv because my sister (in Germany) was urged to give her bf child vit d drops.
my hv said that there are only recommended for people at risk i.e dark skinned, covered up for cultural reasons, vegetarians...

I have four. Have only had to give one vits but she was 3 months prem. My youngest is 1 but I don't know it if it smore recent than this as havent seen the hv since the week he was born.
My 1 year old has a slight tan. He has his fathers skin that tans easily and we have been down the allotment regularly so it has built up gradually. I'm pretty sure hes getting enough.
Its the scaremongering of cover them up they'll burn to ashes thats caused the problem. Not sure if giving out vitamins is the answer.

welove- how come plenty of people living further north manage to not have rickets by eating right and spending time in the sun then?

it's not just rickets bronze, it's linked to type2 diabetes and some cancers and psoriasis
My Dad was from cyprus so had darker skin and ended up with type2 diabetes and psoriasis .

Sorry my point was that how come not everyone (minus the vits takers) up north are suffering if noones getting enough sun

here is a link

Its 52 degrees latitude. I would think it is a blured line.

bronze there are lots of different factors. Not everyone who doesn't take folic acid have a baby with a neural tube deffect. Genetics are odd.

The point is not, bronze, that everyone up north will get rickets, but that there's a recent increase, that has to be weighed against the increase in skin cancer if you get burnt a lot as a child (not everyone who gets burnt has skin cancer either, it's not a one-to-one cause and effect thing). You don't say why wear sunscreen cos everyone doesn't get skin cancer.

In the past, people didn't slap on sunscreen when going for a 10 min walk in mid-April nor put hats on their children/use screens/put them in tents on the beach all the time. The downside of this was increased risk of skin cancer, the upside was more Vit D manufactured. You don't need an entire geographic region to fall down dead to know that lacking in Vit D isn't a good idea. Having any rickets whatsoever in the UK is really unbelievable given we know what causes it and how to prevent it. But I favour everyone weighing up the two risks and deciding for themselves, which is indeed what they have the chance to do by taking/not taking vitamin drops.

My naiveity I guess. I find it hard to beleive that people don't live the kind of lifestyle where they get enough from the sun (to store too) and their food to get them by. I forget that people don't live like we do, trying to eat well and spending a lot of time outside doing things.
I'm north of Birmingham btw. I had to check

In one book I read it was suggested that you combine bf for 6 month olds and over with a fortified follow-on milk.

Not two things I myself see as being compatible...