Do breastfed babies need vitamin supplements?

Many mothers wonder with aFamilyToday Health whether it is necessary to supplement vitamins and minerals for breastfed infants. The answer is yes, but in some specific cases.

Breast milk is an ideal source of food with full nutrients to help your baby grow up healthy and fight diseases such as blood clotting disorders , rickets, growth retardation , iron deficiency anemia . However, does breast milk have enough vitamins and minerals needed for your baby? You will find the answer in the following article.

Vitamin K

At birth, babies have low levels of vitamin K in their bodies and breast milk provides only small amounts of this vitamin. Vitamin K helps blood clot during injury and helps control bleeding. So, whether your baby is breastfed or not, you should still get 1 dose of vitamin K right after birth. This helps children prevent hemophilia, a rare but dangerous disease for future health. After that, your baby will no longer need this vitamin supplement.

Vitamin D

Infants use vitamin D to absorb calcium and help keep bones and teeth strong. In addition, this vitamin also plays an important role in the immune system so it can prevent infection. Without enough vitamin D, your baby is at risk for rickets. This is a disease leading to soft bones and accompanied by adverse effects on the development of muscles and joints in children. In addition, rickets also cause slow growth , unusual pain or bone deformity such as bow legs.

Although rare, babies can still develop rickets if they don't get enough vitamin D from breast milk. Honey can get vitamin D from the sun. However, the doctor does not encourage your baby to be exposed to strong sunlight. If you take your child outside, cover and apply sunscreen to prevent harmful ultraviolet rays. Children should only sunbathe in the early morning because at that time, the sun is mildest.

Infants that are formula fed with vitamin D (at least 400IU) do not need any additional vitamin D supplements.

Iron

Iron is an essential mineral for children's development and plays a role in making red blood cells that carry oxygen throughout the body. Darling is more likely to become anemic if not getting enough iron. Iron deficiency anemia  sometimes has no symptoms or is manifested by pale skin, rapid heartbeat, fussy eating and poor physical condition. Long-term iron deficiency also makes babies have many problems with the development of muscles and brain.

Breast milk contains iron, even a small amount, but still enough for your baby. Infants absorb iron in breast milk very well and even better than formula-fed babies. Normally, the fetus has stored iron in the body towards the end of pregnancy. So, when born, babies have both stored iron and iron in breast milk, so this mineral is quite enough for the baby. Children have enough iron needed for the first 4-6 months of life.

At 6 months of age, babies begin to use more bodily functions, resulting in insufficient iron in breast milk to meet developmental needs. Therefore, the pediatrician recommends iron supplements for your child. Iron is supplemented in liquid form at a dose of 1mg / kg / day until your baby is getting enough iron in his or her diet. At 1 year, the doctor will check for iron deficiency and let you know if iron is needed .

If your baby is both breastfed and formula fed and breastfed more than half the time, he or she will need an iron supplement. Complementing partially breastfed babies is the same as for exclusively breastfed babies. Children who drink formula do not need iron if they have enough iron in the milk.

Fluoride

Fluoride is an essential mineral that helps strengthen tooth enamel and helps prevent tooth decay. In breast milk contains fluoride, so babies do not need to add this mineral in the first 6 months. Supplement or not depends on the baby's drinking water as well as nutrition. Then, your doctor may recommend a fluoride supplement if:

You use well water: Normally, well water will contain a natural amount of fluoride, but not enough for your baby.

Bottled water: If you regularly use bottled water, your child sometimes has a lot of fluoride deficiency. However, some types of water have this mineral supplement. Therefore, read the product details to find out how much minerals are in it.

Some special cases

The suggestions above are for full term babies. Besides, there are still cases of premature babies with health problems. Depending on the situation, some babies will need an adequate iron supplement from 4 months of age or some other vitamins, such as:

Preterm:  A premature baby has different needs from a full term baby. Preterm babies cannot store as much iron as other babies and need more vitamins and minerals that breast milk or formula cannot provide. The type and dose of mineral supplements depend on when the baby is born and the baby's health.

Infants with health problems:  Babies born with health problems may need iron or other vitamins and minerals from the start. Knowing what specific diseases your baby has, the new doctor will determine what kind of supplement your baby needs.

Vegetarian babies:  Meat and dairy products are the main food sources of vitamin B12 . So if you follow a vegan diet, breast milk may not contain enough of this vitamin. You may need vitamin B12 during pregnancy and breast-feeding. However, your baby may have to take more if the mother's vitamin B12 content is too low.