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Botanical supplement use noted in young children
Zhang Y. Pediatrics. 2011;doi:10.1542/peds.2010-2294.
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Clinicians should ask about use of botanical supplements and types of herbal teas consumed, even in young children, according to an FDA-backed study published online recently.
Yuanting Zhang, PhD, who is with the Office of Regulations, Policy and Social Sciences at the FDA, and colleagues, looked at data taken from the Infant Practice Feeding Study, conducted between 2005 and 2007. The study included about 2,600 women from late pregnancy to the child’s first year of life. Healthy mothers aged 18 years and older were given questionnaires pertaining to feeding habits. They answered the same questions once prenatally and 10 times during the first year of their infant’s life.
Approximately 9% of mothers reported giving their child botanical supplements on at least one questionnaire. The researchers said mothers who took supplements themselves were more likely to administer them to their children. The most common supplements given were chamomile, gripe water, teething tablets and different teas. The most common reasons mothers gave for administering the supplements were “to help with fussiness, digestion, colic and relaxation.”
“The wide variety of dietary botanical supplements and teas given to infants increases the likelihood that some are unsafe,” Zhang and colleagues wrote. “Health care providers should recognize that infants under their care may receive a wide variety of different supplements and teas.”
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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