Vitamin & You

Different Types Of Vitamins Suitable For Your Babies And You

Vitamins for you

NICE recommends women should take 400 micrograms of folic acid each day, from before pregnancy until the end of the first trimester (first 12 weeks), and 10 micrograms of vitamin D daily throughout pregnancy and while breastfeeding. No other supplements are recommended for routine use.

Vitamins for your baby

Most healthy babies receive the vitamins they need from breastmilk or formula

The most common supplements recommended for babies include:

Vitamin K

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that all babies receive a one-time vitamin K injection shortly after birth to reduce the risk of hemorrhagic disease. Vitamin K is necessary for our bodies to activate certain molecules that help the blood to clot.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D allows the body to absorb and retain calcium and phosphorus, both critical for building strong bones. A vitamin D deficiency can lead to rickets, a bone-softening disease that still impacts children in the U.S., usually in the first two years of life.

Since breastmilk does not provide adequate vitamin D, all breastfed babies should receive a supplement.

Formula fed babies generally do not need additional vitamin D supplementation because formula has vitamin D already added. If your baby is drinking at least 32 ounces of formula per day, she’s receiving adequate amounts of vitamin D.

Vitamin B12

Vitamin B12 keeps the body’s nerve and blood cells healthy and helps make DNA, the genetic material in all cells. Vitamin B12 deficiency can cause a type of anemia called megaloblastic anemia that makes people tired and weak.

Vitamin B12 is not present in plant foods, so breastfeeding moms who follow a strict vegan diet (meaning, they aren’t eating any animal foods) will need to supplement their diet with vitamin B12 to make sure that both they themselves and their babies are receiving adequate levels.

Signs and symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency in infants include vomiting, lethargy, anemia, failure to thrive, hypotonia (low muscle tone), and developmental delay/regression. Breastfed infants can develop vitamin B12 deficiency by 2-6 months of age, but the symptoms may not become apparent until 6-12 months. And breastfed infants may develop clinical signs of vitamin B12 deficiency before their mothers do.

Iron

Breastmilk is low in Iron but most babies are born with sufficient reserves of iron to protect them from anemia, at least until the age of 4-6 months. If you had poorly controlled gestational diabetes, or your baby was premature or smaller than 6 pounds at birth), your baby may not have gotten enough iron during pregnancy.

The AAP recommends exclusively and partially breastfed infants receive 1 mg/kg/day of a liquid iron supplement starting at 4-6 months and continuing until iron-containing solid foods are introduced at about six months of age. Speak with your baby’s doctor about Iron supplementation.

When you begin to introduce your baby to solid food, choose foods that contain iron, like fortified cereals, meats, fish, beans and vegetables.