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Mothers supplemented with vitamin D supply ample amounts to nursing infants

Breastfeeding infants received adequate amounts of vitamin D from breast milk when their mothers took 6,400 IU vitamin D₃ per day, according to recently published data in Pediatrics.

“With appropriate vitamin D intake, the lactating mother can fully transfer from her blood to her milk the vitamin D required to sustain optimal vitamin D nutrition in the nursing infant with no additional supplementation required for the infant,” the researchers wrote.

To assess the impact of various levels of vitamin D supplementation on lactating mothers and their nursing infants, researchers randomly assigned 334 mothers to receive 400 IU, 2,400 IU or 6,400 IU vitamin D₃ per day for 6 months. Infants whose mothers were in the 400 IU group received oral 400 IU vitamin D₃ per day, while infants whose mothers were in the 2,400 or 6,400 group received nothing.

Results demonstrated that women in the 6,400 IU group had significantly increased levels of vitamin D and 25-hydroxy-vitamin D, compared with the 400 IU group (P < .0001).

The infants of women taking 6,400 IU vitamin D per day had vitamin D levels comparable to the infants receiving the oral 400 IU vitamin D supplement per day.

A significant association was seen between vitamin D deficiency and race, with black mothers and infants having significantly lower circulating 25-hydroxy-vitamin D levels compared with white women and infants, according to the researchers.

“The medical community has accepted the fact that low concentrations of vitamin D are an inherent defect in human milk that has promoted recommendation of vitamin D supplementation for breastfeeding infants starting within the first few days after birth. The current study clearly refutes this misconception,” the researchers wrote. – by Casey Hower

Disclosures: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.