Liquid vitamin D is sold to parents to help supplement their infants and children’s vitamin D levels. The body naturally makes vitamin D after exposure to sunlight, though some infants do not get enough sun exposure to create enough. While infant formulas are fortified with vitamin D, breastmilk does not have this important vitamin in it. After a study of infants, the CDC recommended parents use supplements to help their infants.

Unfortunately, the FDA says that some parents are accidentally giving their infants too much.

“It is important that infants not get more than the recommended daily amount of vitamin D,” FDA spokeswoman Linda Katz said in a press release. “Parents and caregivers should only use the dropper that comes with the vitamin supplement purchased.”

Only 400 international units (IU) is recommended per day by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Some infant droppers used to feed the liquid vitamin D to infants holds much more, however. Rather than reading the recommended amount, some parents may be filling the droppers too full or using other droppers that holds much more.

The FDA is now recommended that vitamin manufacturers supply droppers that are both clearly marked and adequate size. Parents are urged to only use the droppers that come with the liquid vitamin bottles.

2 Comments

I take issue with the statement that breastmilk doesn’t contain any vitamin D. Actually, it does, if the mother has enough in her system. A Swedish study a few years ago stated that if the mother takes 2000IU a day enough will go through her milk. Since then I’ve read a few other studies that have different figures, but not far off from that. The mother needs to have her vitamin D levels checked and if they are sufficient, than enough will go through her breastmilk to the baby.

This really annoys me, it is like when my brother-in-law tried to tell me that breastmilk doesn’t contain any iron!