Breastfeeding is almost always associated with infant vitamin D deficiency – Dec 2021

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Breastfeeding and vitamin D - Dec 2021

Clin Exp Pediatr DOI: https://doi.org/10.3345/cep.2021.00444
Ju Sun Heo1 , Young Min Ahn2 ymahn964 at naver.com, Ai-Rhan Ellen Kim3 , Son Moon Shin4
1Department of Pediatrics, Anam Hospital, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
2Department of Pediatrics, Jang’s Hospital, Seoul, Korea
3Department of Pediatrics, Ulsan University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
4Department of Pediatrics, Inje University Busan Paik Hospital, Inje University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea
Young Min Ahn, Email:

The recent re-emergence of vitamin D deficiency (VDD) and rickets among breastfed infants without adequate sunlight exposure and vitamin D supplementation has been reported worldwide. Breastfed infants are particularly vulnerable to VDD because of the low vitamin D content of breast milk, restricted sunlight exposure, increased pollution, and limited natural dietary sources of vitamin D.
The prevalence of VDD in breastfed infants differs vastly between studies and nations at 0.6–91.1%.
The recommended intake of vitamin D for lactating mothers to optimize their overall vitamin D status and, consequently, of their breast milk is 200–2000 IU/day, indicating a lack of consensus.
Some studies have suggested that maternal high-dose vitamin D supplementation (up to 6400 IU/day) can be used as an alternate strategy to direct infant supplementation. However, concern persists about the safety of maternal high-dose vitamin D supplementation.

Direct infant supplementation is the currently available option to support vitamin D status in breastfed infants. The recommended dose for vitamin D supplementation in breastfed infants according to various societies and organizations worldwide is 200–1200 IU/day. Most international guidelines recommend that exclusively or partially breastfed infants be supplemented with 400 IU/day of vitamin D during their first year of life. However, domestic studies on the status and guidelines for vitamin D in breastfed infants are insufficient. This review summarizes the prevalence of VDD in breastfed infants, vitamin D content of breast milk, and current guidelines for vitamin D supplementation of lactating mothers and infants to prevent VDD in breastfed infants.
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VitaminDWiki pages with BREASTFEEDING or BREASTFED in title (32 as of Dec 2021)

This list is automatcially updated

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VitaminDWiki - Pregnancy category

942 items in Pregnancy category

 - see also

• Overview Pregnancy and vitamin D
• Number of articles in both categories of Pregnancy and:Dark Skin 30;   Depression 21;   Diabetes 45;   Obesity 18;  Hypertension 44;   Breathing 37;  Omega-3 46;  Vitamin D Receptor 25 Click here for details
• All items in category Infant/Child 872 items
• Pregnancy needs at least 40 ng of vitamin D, achieved by at least 4,000 IU – Hollis Aug 2017
• 38+ papers with Breastfed etc, in the title
• Call to action – more Vitamin D for pregnancies, loading doses are OK – Holick Aug 2019
• 53+ preeclampsia studies
• 94+ studies with PRETERM in the title
• Fertility problem (PCOS) reduced by vitamin D, etc. - many studies 15+
• 94+ Gestational Diabetes
• Caesarean birth much more likely if low Vitamin D - many studies 15+ studies
• Post-partum depression and low Vitamin D - many studies 15+ studies
• Stillbirth reduced by Vitamin D, Zinc, Omega-3 - several studies 5+ studies
• Search VitaminDWiki for "Assisted reproduction" 33 items as of Aug 2022
• Fertility and Sperm category listing has 148 items along with related searches
• (Stunting OR “low birth weight” OR LBW) 1180 items as of June 2020
• Less labor pain if higher level of vitamin D – August 2021
• Healthy pregnancies need lots of vitamin D
• Ensure a healthy pregnancy and baby - take Vitamin D before conception
  

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VitaminDWiki - Healthy pregnancies need lots of vitamin D has

Most were taking 2,000 to 7,000 IU daily for >50% of pregnancy
   Click on hyperlinks for details

Problem	Vit. D Reduces	Evidence
0. Chance of not conceiving	3.4 times	Observe
1. Miscarriage	2.5 times	Observe
2. Pre-eclampsia	3.6 times	RCT
3. Gestational Diabetes	3 times	RCT
4. Good 2nd trimester sleep quality	3.5 times	Observe
5. Premature birth	2 times	RCT
6. C-section - unplanned	1.6 times	Observe
Stillbirth - OMEGA-3	4 times	RCT - Omega-3
7. Depression AFTER pregnancy	1.4 times	RCT
8. Small for Gestational Age	1.6 times	meta-analysis
9. Infant height, weight, head size      within normal limits		RCT
10. Childhood Wheezing	1.3 times	RCT
11. Additional child is Autistic	4 times	Intervention
12.Young adult Multiple Sclerosis	1.9 times	Observe
13. Preeclampsia in young adult	3.5 times	RCT
14. Good motor skills @ age 3	1.4 times	Observe
15. Childhood Mite allergy	5 times	RCT
16. Childhood Respiratory Tract visits	2.5 times	RCT

RCT = Randomized Controlled Trial