Can I skip the vitamin supplements?

[stillplayswithbarbies]

Peds don't know much about breastfeeding. They just are not taught much about it at school. I know far more than my ped about breastfeeding. (and I selected a ped who was very pro breastfeeding)

I've done everything the ped said to do too. My ped didn't tell me to give her vitamins, he said "do you think she needs vitamins?". I said "no".

I love my ped. :)

...Karen
DS Jake Feb 91, DD Logan Mar 03
http://members.aol.com/khowe14494/superpower.gif http://members.aol.com/khowe14494/bo...breastfed2.gif

[stillplayswithbarbies]

> Iron is one thing they do not get
>via breastmilk (or at least not in high enough concentrations.
> They basically use up their iron stores from gestation during
>those first 4-6 months after birth, according to what I've
>read.
>

That is incorrect. They do get iron from breastmilk. The iron in breastmilk is more easily used by the body, so it is in the perfect form for them.

Breastfed babies do not need iron supplements unless they have tested low for it.

What I read said that babies who get nothing but breastmilk for the first 7 months tend to not be anemic, but babies who get any other food or formula during the first 7 months are more likely to need iron supplements. The other foods/formula interfere with the absorption of the iron in the breastmilk.

...Karen
DS Jake Feb 91, DD Logan Mar 03
http://members.aol.com/khowe14494/superpower.gif http://members.aol.com/khowe14494/bo...breastfed2.gif

[ett]

I started giving my DS trivisol at 2 months. I asked my ped about it and she recommended it because I breastfeed and it was going to be winter so DS might not get enough vitamin D from the sun. (we're in massachusetts). That said, she did mention that the whole vitamin D supplement was a recent thing and that years ago they never gave it to babies and they all turned out fine too. I'm not sure if my ped would have mentioned giving vitamins had I not asked her about them. They have so many patients so I'm sure the things they mention to each person is different.

I asked my ped about iron supplements at our 6 month appointment, which she said weren't necessary because they would be getting it from the iron fortified rice cereals and other solids.

Growing up, my own ped did not feel vitamins were necessary, so I never took them as a child.

[lizajane]

i agree with rachel and karen.

my ped tried to tell me he needed vitamins because he was exclusively breastfed at 4 months. i explained to her that he was in the sun everyday. she gave me some garbage about not being in the sun enough... clearly this woman had NO IDEA how active i am and how much time i spend outside with my child. finally i just smiled and nodded and then blew off her comments.

i did try to start with vitamins at a year because he was eating a vegan diet. only because i didn't really want to feed him meat, he didn't like it or do well with it when i tried, he is allergic to eggs and he drinks soy milk since we are a lactose intolerant couple. so i figured he (different ped in practice) might be right about the vitamins this time. of course, i never remember to give them to schuyler... but that is more about pregnant brain, i think.

[sntm]

It's really controversial, can't you tell??!?!?!?!?

For breastfed babies, the main controversies surround iron, vit d, and fluoride.

Iron and Vit D levels can both be tested for, and in retrospect that is what I wish I had done at around 7-9 months. I would have considered iron supplementation if he was low at that point. For Vitamin D, I would probably have tried upping my intake first (since D levels in breastmilk correlate with D levels in mom's blood) and exposing Jack to more sunscreen-free sunshine. There's been some arguments that the RDAs for D are too low anyway, but I don't know much about that. FWIW, the vitamins for babies that contain D have too much A in them, as breastmilk is high in A. All the fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K) risk toxicity if too much is given.

For fluoride, I think tap-water at an appropriate age is enough.

I personally have been concerned about links between early vitamin supplementation and allergies/asthma. We tend to forget that the source of the vitamin and the inactive ingredients in it are important, it's not just 100% vitamin.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
shannon
not-even-pregnant-yet-overachiever
trying-to-conceive :)
PREGNANT! EDD 6/9/03
mama to Jack 6/6/03
http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_gold_12m.gif[/img][/url]
Breastfeeding 14 months and counting

[Jen in Chicago]

I have asked 4 Peds in our practice, and they all told me a vitamin is not necessary for a child that is eatting as they should. I starting asking this questions at each visit since he was about 6 mos. No vitamins yet!

[COElizabeth]

Shannon,

As I think I have mentioned before, I am concerned about the recent research that suggests that insufficient vitamin D may be linked to other problems besides rickets, which I recognize is rare and probably not a concern for my children.

In particular, I worry about a possible link between lack of vitamin D and MS, which is present in close relatives on both sides of the family for my kids and which is much more prevalent in my climate than in other areas. Since #2 will be little in the winter and probably not get much sun for the first many months, I would like to supplement with vitamin D, but I don't want to overdose on the other vitamins. Have you heard any word on development of a just-vitamin D supplement? It seems like that would be very popular for BF infants.

Elizabeth, Mom to James, 9-20-02
EDD #2, 10-30-04

[sntm]

I haven't heard of any just D supplements, I agree it would be a smart idea! In the meantime, D levels last for a while (I'd have to go back to the textbooks to remember how long) so stock up on sunshine now while it's pretty and take a supplement yourself -- fish oil is used a lot by some LCs I know, but I'm not too up on that. Also, remember that sunlight through windows can work too, the glass doesn't block all the UV light just some. So on bright days in the winter, keep the curtains open. And invest in a good bunting or some cozy blankets for #2 and plan for some brisk walks on sunny winter days.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
shannon
not-even-pregnant-yet-overachiever
trying-to-conceive :)
PREGNANT! EDD 6/9/03
mama to Jack 6/6/03
http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_gold_12m.gif[/img][/url]
Breastfeeding 14 months and counting

[ett]

I had not realized that the vitamins that contain D have too much vitamin in them. For the fat-soluble vitamins, do you know how much is too much for babies?

[sntm]

I honestly don't know what the RDAs are for infants -- the info is second hand from some LCs on Lactnet. I don't think it's necessarily that they have too much, just in combination with breastmilk which is already a rich source of vitamin A, you may risk giving too much.

I'll try to add that to my list of things to look up! I'm being bad today and need to get back to work.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
shannon
not-even-pregnant-yet-overachiever
trying-to-conceive :)
PREGNANT! EDD 6/9/03
mama to Jack 6/6/03
http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_gold_12m.gif[/img][/url]
Breastfeeding 14 months and counting