Comments for Can I Take Vitamin D Supplements While Breastfeeding

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Breastfeeding and Vitamin D....
by: Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Health Queen

Hi Stacy,

I'm not sure why you are worried about taking




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vitamin D while you are breastfeeding. If YOU are vitamin D deficient, then why would you think that your breast fed baby has more Vitamin D than you?

You would likely be shocked and worried if you had your baby's vitamin D level checked. It will almost surely be low. If you are not in the sun and you are not going out in the sun with the baby, then where do you think that your baby is getting his vitamin D? Certainly not from you and certainly not from the sun.


So, research has shown that breastfeeding mothers need upwards of 5000 IU's per day for their baby to get ANY vitamin D at all, and there has NEVER EVER been a case of a breast feeding baby overdosing on vitamin D from breast milk- so it's safe to breast feed him ALL of the time while you are taking vitamin D.

Doing so is likely to have him get enough vitamin D as well.



Kerri Knox RN Immune Health Queen

Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Health Queen
Functional Medicine Practitioner
Easy Immune Health.com
Vitamin D is not in milk...
by: Anonymous

This seems like a harsh and inaccurate response. Your child will not likely have low vitamin D levels because of the formula you're giving. Formula is fortified with vitmain D, while breastmilk (no matter what level the mother has) does not have vitamin D in it.

If you are only breastfeeding, your infant should be taking a liquid form of vitamin D supplement. You are safe to take as much vitamin D as your doctor recommends.

Only your body will be affected by low vitamin D levels. But you need to be healthy to take care of your family, so remember to take care of yourself too!
You are absolutely wrong...
by: Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Queen!

Please refrain from commenting on my boards, or any boards really, when you have completely inaccurate information. Please read my Vitamin D and Breastfeeding page and look at the peer reviewed studies that I have links to that show that mother's milk does, indeed, have a SIGNIFICANT amount of Vitamin D- when and if the mother is getting adequate vitamin d.

And while formula IS fortified, for one thing it is fortified with the inferior form of Vitamin D- vitamin d2- when humans should be getting Vitamin D3.

Next, formula has only a miniscule amount of vitamin d- enough to prevent rickets. But that does not mean that because the baby is getting fortified formula that they are getting an adequate amount of Vitamin D for OPTIMAL health later in life.

Many of the top researchers and doctors suggest that infants get about 1000 IU's a day, and the baby in the original thread is doing PARTIAL breastfeeding from a Vitamin d deficient mother and the rest from formula- so the baby is getting even LESS than she would if she were formula fed.

Rather than supplementing the baby, the studies show that the mother taking approximately 6700 IU's of Vitamin D per day will give HER enough to meet her needs AND give the baby enough to meet ITS needs with ZERO risk of overdose for either of them.

So, that is what I recommend for breast feeding mothers.



Kerri Knox RN Immune Health Queen

Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune System Queen
Functional Medicine Practitioner
Immune System
Vitamin D affecting milk supply?
by: Emily

I was recently diagnosed with a vitamin D deficiency, and I am nursing my fourth baby (combined 72 months of breastfeeding in the past 93 months). My doctor has me on 50,000 IUs once a week. After beginning the treatment, though, I feel like my supply is reduced, which is pretty unusual for me. Could there be a correlation?
Milk Supply Reduced...
by: Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Queen!

Hi Emily,

There have been quite a few studies done on women who were breastfeeding and taking up to 6400 IU's of vitamin d per day- and one who was taking 100,000 IU's of vitamin d per day (under close medical supervision) and there were no reports of a decrease in milk production.

So, I'm not sure if it would have anything to do with the vitamin d or not.

But I have two pieces of advice for you in any case. Please read my page on Prescription Vitamin D to see why I STRONGLY recommend that no one takes vitamin D2 and that everyone should ONLY take Vitamin D3 Supplements.

And my second recommendation is to continue to supplement your baby- and if you aren't, to please start IMMEDIATELY. Even though you are now taking vitamin d, if you take a look at the chart on my Vitamin D and Breastfeeding page, you'll see that it could take up to 6 months to build up enough reserves that your baby will get enough vitamin d for his/her needs too!!

You may ALSO want to ask your doctor why no one checked your vitamin d levels during pregnancy. The American Association of Pediatrics made an official statement recommending that all pregnant women have their vitamin d levels checked and that their levels be brought up to at least 32 nanograms per mole.

On my page entitled Vitamin D in Pregnancy, there are MANY reasons why your baby's health depends upon you taking vitamin d during pregnancy- and your doctor not only put YOU at risk, but put your baby at a higher lifetime risk of some diseases by not following these AAP guidelines!!

So, please DO ask him why he chose not to follow the 'standard of care' as recommended by the AAP so that others can be protected from what you are going through right now.


Kerri Knox RN Immune Health Queen

Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune System Queen
Functional Medicine Practitioner
Immune System

 


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