Vitamin D – also known as ‘the sunshine vitamin’ – is in the news again this week.
Research published in the June issue of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine showed that 12% of US children are already vitamin D deficient – and a further 28% are at risk of vitamin D deficiency.
Vitamin D helps your baby’s body absorb calcium, thereby promoting the development of strong bones and teeth. A lack of vitamin D can lead to rickets, where bones do not grow correctly and which, in some cases, may cause bowed legs.
Authors of the report are now calling for the routine vitamin D supplementation of breastfed babies, saying that they are at particular risk of deficiency.
However, this has long been a point of controversy, with breastfeeding experts pointing out that vitamin D is made in the skin following exposure to sunlight and that – in many cases – safe sun exposure for babies is all that’s needed to ensure healthy vitamin D levels are maintained.
Our section all about Vitamin D and YOUR Baby gives you lots more information about the sunshine vitamin, along with advice about how to SAFELY expose your little one to sunlight.