Should breastfeeding mums give their babies Vitamin D?

When it comes to breastfeeding (or bottle feeding for that matter), there is never a shortage of alarmist, often conflicting, headlines to get mums worried. This one appeared in the US this weekend:

Many breast-fed babies lack vitamin D

According to the article, breastfed babies lack vitamin D and mums should be supplementing with vitamin D drops. Apparently "the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends all children, including infants, get 400 international units (IU) of vitamin D per day, an amount that is not possible to get from breast milk alone".

The article has generated over 60 comments, many of whom are from angry moms who argue that breastfeeding is a natural way of feeding your baby and has been since the dawn of time, so why the need to supplement with artificial vitamins.

Clicking through on links within the article show that rickets (a disease brought on by a lack of vitamin D) is on the increase for the first time in many years across the US population. This is due to a number of reasons - dietary changes, more sedentary lifestyles and people being more sun aware, therefore slapping on sunblock which prevents the UV-B rays getting to the skin, which helps your body create vitamin D.

So we did a bit of research and discovered that more than half the UK population has insufficient levels of vitamin D. Possibly something to do with our lack of sunshine?

While most UK websites advise that children aged 6 months plus do need extra vitamin D supplements,  the question about whether breastfed babies need vitamin D supplements was less apparent. But after a bit of digging, we found these two useful articles.

This one explains all you need to know about vitamin D, including symptoms of vitamin D deficiency, who's likely to suffer from it, how much sunlight exposure you need and what foods give you vitamin D. It also states that all breastfed babies should have vitamin D supplements. Bottle-fed babies don't need supplements as the formula already has vitamin D added to it. However, the site does say this:
"Note: there are significant advantages to breast-feeding; you should not stop breast-feeding due to concern about vitamin D levels - your baby can simply have vitamin D supplements as drops by mouth."

This one from the British Dietetic Society suggests that it's only necessary to give your baby vitamin  D supplements from 1 month old if the mother's own vitamin D levels were low during pregnancy.

Two websites. Two bits of conflicting advice. Confused? We are.

Our advice:

• If you have any concerns, chat to your GP about whether your breastfed baby needs vitamin D supplements.
• Make sure you eat a balanced diet, take Vitamin D supplements during pregnancy and while breastfeeding if you're likely to suffer from low levels of this vitamin.
• Try to expose your baby to sunshine for short blocks of time as often as there is sunshine, taking care to never let them get burnt.

Let us have your thoughts on this subject. Do you give your breastfed baby vitamin D supplements? Has this subject ever been raised with you by your doctor, health visitor or midwife? We'd love to get your views.

And if you are breastfeeding, don't forget to take a look at our extensive range of nursing bras. They'll give you one less thing to worry about!