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!

Real mums, real experience: Breastfeeding is a journey

At Emma-Jane, we want to share the real stories about what pregancy, birth and breastfeeding are like.  The good, the bad and the ugly so to speak. Because we think it's important to know that you're not alone. This week, Laura, a mum of two and blogger at Yummy Mummy Flabby Tummy is our guest writer. Read Laura's story about her breastfeeding journey - and if you're interested in sharing yours, please leave your details in the comment box and we'll be in touch.

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“Are you planning to breastfeed?” asks my midwife. Well, yes I thought I would try. I was handed a leaflet or two about breastfeeding and that was it. As a first time mum I had no idea how hard breastfeeding was going to be. I was naive if I am to be completely honest. You always hear that it’s meant to be the most natural thing on the planet, a mother being able to nourish her baby with her own milk. I thought I would just latch my baby on and off we’d go on a magical bonding experience and a happily ever after Disney ending. When it actually came to it though, it was one of the toughest experiences of my life.

After a long labour filled with pain and drugs, when my son was placed in my arms the last thing I was thinking about was feeding him. I was exhausted, I felt ill and I felt overwhelmed. It was about 3 hours after he was born that I tried to feed him for the first time. It was agony. It was uncomfortable. I was assured my positioning was correct and that the pain I was feeling would subside after a few seconds. It didn’t.

As I continued to try and feed my son, midwife after midwife would tell me different ways of positioning him, whether I should give him both breasts and whether I should wake him up for a feed or wake him if he fell asleep during a feed. My boobs were aching and my nipples were raw. I was surviving on very little sleep and my head was a mess. Conflicting information and advice swirling around my head, I was in tears and honestly didn’t want to be a mum. It was too hard and I was only 2 days in. After 4 days I asked to leave the hospital and go home. After just a week, I gave up and my son was bottle-fed. He was happy and I was happier than I had been.

When I became pregnant with my daughter, I knew I wanted to try and breastfeed again. During the pregnancy I made sure I read as much as I could and watched videos online giving advice on correct positioning and latching on techniques.

When my daughter was born, she was placed on my chest and within a few minutes she was looking for a feed. She latched on straight away and that pain and discomfort came rushing back. I told myself this was normal. I’m not used to her and she is not used to me. I asked the midwife to check my positioning and latch were correct and when she agreed they were, I asked for no more help. I was going to do this my way. With my son, although I was always asking for help, something inside me told me I was doing it right. I just wasn’t confident enough to know and trust my gut instinct.

I took each day at a time with my daughter. The first few weeks were a daze. I was sleep deprived and drained. Thankfully I had a lot of support from my husband. He was there for the first 4 weeks of our daughter’s life and looked after my toddler which allowed me to give my full attention to my newborn. 

Some nights she would wake every 30 minutes looking for a comfort feed. These were the hardest nights and I longed for sleep. I felt like a zombie. She wouldn’t take a dummy or comforter and refused to have a bottle of expressed milk. The one thing keeping me going was my health visitor telling me my daughter was gaining weight every time she was weighed. It wasn’t just an ounce or 2. It was 8 or 9oz every fortnight. Seeing her growing and thriving from being fed by me just made me feel amazing.

I can’t remember when I started to notice that my daughter was sleeping longer at night and feeding less during the day. Each day seemed to flow into another and each week seemed to become a month in the blink of an eye. It just did get easier. I had more time with my son and I could make a meal or have a shower without having to rush. Trips to the shops were without military planning.

My daughter is now 17 months old and I still feed her in the morning and at night. I originally planned to feed her until she was 6 months old however when it came to that 6 month mark I decided to try another 6 months and so on. I’m not sure when I’ll stop feeding her. Definitely before she turns 2! I’m really happy that breastfeeding has worked out this time.

 If you are thinking about breastfeeding then get yourself as informed as you can. There are tons of resources online or over the phone you can use. If you have a drop in clinic with a breastfeeding support worker, then go to them. It’s sad to say but there isn’t enough support for new mums in every hospital whether they choose to breastfeed or bottle-feed. It would be lovely to have a person in the hospital that would be your go to person for any feeding advice so that anything you were told was consistent. Unfortunately not every hospital can have that luxury and not every midwife you come across will have breastfed their child.

Breastfeeding is something that, with any new baby skill, takes time to learn. Trust your instincts, take each day as it comes and do what makes you happy. A happy mum will make a happy baby.

~~

 

Win a new seamfree Emma-Jane nursing bra - your breastfeeding tips needed

When it comes to breastfeeding, there is a wealth of information out there. And while we are very, very good at making nursing bras, we will readily admit that we're not breastfeeding experts.  Which is why La Leche League is one of the organisations we support. We know there are plenty of qualified people to provide advice to mums on how to breastfeed so that it's a wonderful experience for them.

But often the best tips come from other mums. Mums who have been there, done that, got the the milk stains on the t-shirt. And that's where we'd like your help.

Post your top breastfeeding tips in the comments section below or sign up to become a Facebook fan and post your tip here and then we'll send the person with the best tip one of our new Emma-Jane seamfree nursing bras - pictured below - or if you're no longer breastfeeding, an uplifting Bliss Stick from MamaBabyBliss, for those days when you need a little lift.

 

We'll kick things off with our tip:
Sleep with breastpads in a sleep bra at night because on those rare nights when your baby does sleep for more than a couple of hours, your breasts are likely to leak!

So share yours and we'll announce a winner on 5 November.

The £10 nursing bra that feels a million dollars

Here they are....drumroll please...our brand spanking new Next Generation seamfree nursing bras! 

Designed with comfort in mind, these ultra-soft knitted seamfree bras have a brilliant fit and a soft under-band that provides comfortable support. Available in two styles (361 and 365), our Next Generation bras come with clips for quick and easy feeding, and four back eyes to fit a nursing mum’s ever-changing shape.

As our guest blogger Emily explained in our previous post, when nursing a baby, comfort is key. But we also know that many mums can’t afford or aren’t willing to spend vast sums on new bras every time their breast size changes. Our new range of Seamfree bras help mums to be comfortable all day while being genuinely affordable.

The Next Generation bras are available in a choice of white, black or skin colours and come in four sizes to fit sizes 32B – 38F. Style 361 has a recommended retail price of just £10, while style 365 which offers removable foam pads for comfort with excellent fit retails at £16. Both styles will be available from Emma-Jane retailers from November 2010.

Nursing bras – why comfort beats sexy every time

Emily Vest is mum to two young (and very gorgeous) boys and is 37 weeks pregnant with her third. She’s also a prolific blogger. Her blog Pants With Names is one of the top 100 UK parent blogs. As a wearer of Emma-Jane bras, we invited her to share her thoughts with us on what she looks for in a nursing bra and to give us real mum insight into the world of pregnancy and nursing.....

 ~~~

Being heavily pregnant is many things: scary, exciting, beautiful, but one thing it is not is comfortable. The same could be said for those early days of motherhood, when everything is sore, the nipples are cracked, stitches are places you’d rather not have them and sleep is a long lost memory.

Now approaching the end of my third pregnancy, I’d forgotten just how nervy and exciting these uncomfortable days are. I know well enough from experience that everything is a phase, and that I will get back to normal again soon enough, but for right now, I just want to be comfortable.  At 36 weeks I can start looking for a new nursing bra and experience has taught me many things when it comes to making this sort of purchase.

The most important is this: late pregnancy and early motherhood ain’t sexy. How can anyone feel sexy when you have a small person hammering on your bladder, midwives talking of pelvic bones splitting and getting out of the bath requires some form of crane? The idea of sexy becomes even more outlandish after you’ve checked your dignity in at the hospital reception and vast numbers of people have prodded places usually reserved for your most loved one, and I haven’t even started to discuss the joys of the stitches and piles.

So when it comes to buying bras, sexy is so far down the list of desirable features that to even contemplate the idea of a sexy nursing bra sends me into spasms of uncontrollable giggles, probably capable of sending me into labour. I mean, could there be anything less sexy than a racy red and black number sodden in breast milk mocking your ability to think about anything apart from sleep?

I’m not suggesting that the bras can’t be pretty, after all they’ll be on display rather more than your other bras, but sexy? I could do without that particular stick to beat myself up with.

So, as I approach my third baby’s due date what would I suggest looking for in a nursing bra? Comfort, comfort, comfort (which includes fitting well and proper support; you aren’t going to find yourself nice and relaxed if the bra doesn’t fit properly). Then if you are as broke as me, good value for money (but remember comfort comes first at all times). And finally, a little mental note that nursing doesn’t go on forever and by then I might even feel like a little naughtiness so the sexy stuff will be back before I know it.

 ~~~

Many thanks to Emily for contributing this guest post. And best of luck for the birth!

Come say hi at the Baby Show for Trade

It's trade show season! Next week (10 - 12 October) we'll be at the Baby Show for Trade, Kensington Olympia 10^th - 12^th October. If you're a member of the trade, please stop by our stand (G1) and say hello. We'll be showcasing our four new nursing bra styles that will be available from the end of this month, including our Next Generation Seamfree bras.


We're also very busy working on our new look website. So watch this space for details as to when it'll go live. 


Finally, if you're not a fan already, please join our Facebook fan page here and follow us on twitter

http://twitter.com/emmajanebras

Late summer sun babymoon - what to wear with a bump

The weather here in the UK has certainly turned. Boots and coats are being dusted off, while flip flops are packed away. But if you're pregnant, now is a great time to grab some late summer sun in the Med. It's not quite as hot as the middle of summer, there are fewer crowds and prices are lower.  And if this is your first baby, a babymoon with your partner will give you the chance to spend quality time together before the sleepness nights kick in.

Going on a sunny holiday means you'll need a maternity swimsuit. The good news is that most mums feel more confident wearing a swimsuit while pregnant than they might normally - no need to try and suck in that belly or worry about not filling out the top!

If you're more interested in getting a tan than swimming for exercise, then we suggest a maternity tankini.

Style 953 from Emma-Jane has ruched sides so it can be adjusted to body changes during pregnancy. And it's easy to pull up over your bump if you want to get a tan. It comes with an elasticated bra shelf for comfort and support.

Swimming in pregnancy is a great low impact form of exercise. So if you plan on getting into the pool, you might want to try one of these one piece styles.

Style 952 has ruched sides so that it keeps on fitting throughout your pregnancy plus criss-cross straps, an elasticated bra shelf and is fully lined at the front. It comes in a stunning turquoise or black.

Style 951 has the same ruched sides, but can be worn as a halter neck or strapless. It comes in black or blue.



See it on the catwalk here

Happy holidays! Go to http://www.emma-jane.com/ to see our swimsuits or find a retailer.