Vitamin D For All Children

Breast milk is considered the best source of nutrition for babies, however it is low in vitamin D. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), all children, including infants, should 400 international units (IU) of vitamin D per day, an amount that is not possible to get from breast milk alone, experts say. And while people can also get vitamin D from sunlight, the AAP advises that infants younger than six months avoid exposure to direct sunlight due to skin cancer risk.
The AAP recommends vitamin D supplements, in the form of drops, be given to breast-fed babies shortly after birth. However, only about 5 percent to 13 percent of breast-fed babies received vitamin D supplements between 2005 and 2007, according to a study published in April in the journal Pediatrics.


Source: MyHealthyNewsDaily, msnbc.com