Breastfeeding and Vitamin Supplements
So how many of you breastfeeding mums were advised to take Vitamin D supplements throughout your pregnancy and whilst breastfeeding?
I know I certainly wasn't - although because I don't eat red meat, I did take pre-natal supplements. However, this was primarily to ensure my iron levels were good. But Vitamin D? It never crossed my mind...
According to this report rickets, a bone disease caused by Vitamin D deficiency and once thought to have been eradicated in the UK, is on the increase particularly amongst Asian, Afro-Caribbean and Middle Eastern children.
As a result, pregnant women and mothers breastfeeding their babies are being advised by the UK Department of Health to boost their intake of vitamin D in the winter to prevent their child suffering rickets or seizures. According to the report children under 4 years of age should also be receiving supplements.
Vitamin D is found in some foods such as oily fish, eggs, fortified cereals and bread and is also gained by exposure to around 15 minutes of sunlight a day.
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