Breastfeeding and Vitamin D - many studies

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38+ VitaminDWiki pages with BREASTFED etc in the title

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10+ VitaminDWiki pages have LACTATION in the title

This list is automatically updated

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Bone Mineral Density decreases during breastfeeding, recovers 6 months later – Aug 2023

Bone Mineral Density During and After Lactation: A Comparison of African American and Caucasian Women
Calcif Tissue Int. 2023 Aug 28. doi: 10.1007/s00223-023-01125-9
Marilyn Augustine 1, Robert Boudreau 2, Jane A Cauley 2, Deborah Majchel 3, Nayana Nagaraj 4, Lauren S Roe 2, Poonam Sood 5, Andrew F Stewart 6, Mara J Horwitz 7

During lactation, changes in maternal calcium metabolism are necessary to provide adequate calcium for newborn skeletal development. The calcium in milk is derived from the maternal skeleton through a process thought to be mediated by the actions of parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) in combination with decreased circulating estrogen concentrations. After weaning, bone lost during lactation is rapidly regained. Most studies of bone metabolism in lactating women have been performed in Caucasian subjects.
There are well-documented differences between African American (AA) and Caucasian (C) bone metabolism, including higher bone mineral density (BMD), lower risk of fracture, lower 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH) D), and higher PTH in AA compared to C. In this prospective paired cohort study, BMD and markers of bone turnover were compared in self-identified AA and C mothers during lactation and after weaning. BMD decreased in both AA and C women during lactation, with similar decreases at the lumbar spine (LS) and greater bone loss in the C group at the femoral neck (FN) and total hip (TH), demonstrating that AA are not resistant to PTHrP during lactation. BMD recovery compared to the 2 week postpartum baseline was observed 6 months after weaning, though the C group did not have complete recovery at the FN. Increases in markers of bone formation and resorption during lactation were similar in AA and C. C-terminal telopeptide (CTX) decreased to 30% below post-pregnancy baseline in both groups 6 months after weaning, while procollagen type 1 N-terminal (P1NP) returned to baseline in the AA group and fell to below baseline in the C group. Further investigation is required to determine impacts on long term bone health for women who do not fully recover BMD before a subsequent pregnancy.
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Factoid: Colostrom (first 5 days) has 3X more vitamin D than breast milk

Starts at 1.2 IU/g in colostrum, decreases to 0.36 IU/g during the first 5 days post-partum Reference

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Mothers need to take 4,000 to 6,400 IU Vitamin D daily (or 150,000 monthly) to provide adequate vitamin D during breastfeeding

Can maternal vitamin D supplementation significantly increase the vitamin D content in colostrum? - asked Perplexity AI Dec 2024
Yes, maternal vitamin D supplementation can significantly increase vitamin D content in breast milk, including colostrum.
Here's what the research shows:
Supplementation Effects
High-dose maternal vitamin D supplementation effectively increases breast milk vitamin D content through two main approaches:

• Daily supplementation of 4000-6400 IU
• Single monthly dose of 150,000 IU  1  5

Dose-Response Relationship
When mothers receive a single large dose (150,000 IU):

• Breast milk vitamin D peaks at 40 ng/mL on day 1
• Levels decline rapidly afterward  1

With daily supplementation (5000 IU):

• Breast milk vitamin D reaches steady levels of 8 ng/mL by day 3
• These levels maintain through day 28  1

Clinical Outcomes
Higher maternal supplementation leads to better infant outcomes:

• Over 90% of infants whose mothers took vitamin D supplements while breastfeeding achieved adequate serum vitamin D levels  8
• The final mean serum vitamin D in supplemented mothers' infants was 66.7 nmol/L,
  compared to 33.5 nmol/L in unsupplemented mothers' infants  8

Current Recommendations
Standard maternal supplementation of 400-600 IU per day is insufficient to meaningfully increase milk vitamin D content  2
. Higher doses of 4000-6400 IU daily are needed to achieve adequate vitamin D transfer through breast milk  3

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VitaminDWiki - Pregnancy category contains

937 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 24 Click here for details
• All items in category Infant/Child 862 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 144 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