LONG: Do you give your breastfed baby vitamins? (help resolve our domestic disagreement)

yarnymommy · January 2012

My son is fed breast milk exclusively (either from nursing at the breast when I?m not at work or expressed milk at daycare).? He does not get any formula supplemented.? Our pediatrician, a male if it matters, has recommended that our son (who is now 4 months old) have vitamins daily.? He actually recommended this to us at our 2 month checkup and we complied? we bought Poly-Vi-Sol with iron (I couldn?t find it without iron) and started giving him the recommended amount every day.

? I?ve had issues with this from the start.? At 2 months, DS was declared healthy ?he looks great!? the doctor said.? But then recommended these vitamins. ?I didn?t understand why if he looked so great he would need vitamins.? But, as a FTM, I figured I?d do what the doctor said.? When I opened them for the first time, they smelled HORRIBLE.? I believe my statement was ?this is what evil smells like!?? They tasted just as bad (of course I tried a bit on my finger to see).? DS HATED them too.? We were able to get the pharmacist to flavor them with raspberry and then I would mix it with about ?-1/3 oz of breast milk to get him to take it.?

? Well, after the doctor saying that he should continue his vitamins at his 4 month appointment yesterday, I?m starting to question things.? At 4 months, he?s almost doubled his birth weight.? He?s hitting all his gross motor skill milestones and again the doctor remarked ?he?s doing great!?

? So, I called the LC to see what her thoughts were.? In her opinion, the only breast fed babies that need vitamins are preemies because they have underdeveloped organs.? She said that if he?s gaining weight and looks so good that he should not need any additional vitamins other than what he gets from mother?s milk.? She went on to say that she definitely would not give vitamins with iron because the synthetic iron can counteract three components of iron in my milk (I forget what she said they were called).? I felt like, ok, enough said.? I?m not totally crazy for not wanting to give my son vitamins.

? I just talked to DH on the phone and he?s angry that I went and talked to the LC.? He said ?oh you?re drinking that lactation Kool-Aid again!?? We?ve had discussions before about what I should or should not be doing for DS based on advice from the LC.? DH believes in breast feeding and thinks it is the best thing for DS, but thinks that the LCs are too intense (even though the one I see is the most laid back person I?ve ever met).? His opinion is that we go to the doctor because we trust him as a diagnostician and that if I was going to question him that isn?t fair.? I think that it is ALWAYS our job to question our doctors.? It isn?t a bad thing to get a second opinion when you?re unsure.? I completely respect our doctor.? He really is excellent.? But, he has his own opinions on breast feeding? although he is fully supportive of BFing moms, he isn?t as supportive as a LC would be.

? What are your thoughts?? Do you give your child vitamins?

meltoine · January 2012

I never gave DS vitamins. The body responds much better to the vitamin D it makes itself during exposure to sunlight, and numerous studies have shown that the amount of sun it takes to make adequate vitamin D supplies does not increase your risk for cancer. You seriously need about 10 minutes per day, even just on your face and hands. DS gets that on his daily walk so I was never concerned.

Also, no one (pedi, LC, etc) ever suggested he needed a supplement.

karinothing · January 2012

I am pretty sure the only vitamin EBF "need" to have supplemented is vitamin D. I think this is because it isn't passed in sufficient amounts in breastmilk. Also, I know that the medical community has seen an increase in vitamin D deficiencies in children in part due to more stringent use of sun block (so kids just aren't getting the sun exposure they used to get). In my area, we don't even get enough UVB 5 months out of the year to produce vitamin D on our own. I notice you are in FL so you probably don't have this problem.

So, in sum, I give vitamin D. I don't give anything else.

lawright · January 2012

IMO? Get additional information. Ask the doctor why (s)he recommends the vitamins. Look for studies for this particular supplement (or at least abstracts) on the internet. Look for recommendations from multiple sources and organizations, and then make your decision.

lawright · January 2012

FYI, this is the response of the American Academy of Pediatricians.

https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/feeding-nutrition/Pages/Vitamin-Iron-Supplements.aspx?nfstatus=401&nftoken=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000&nfstatusdescription=ERROR%3a+No+local+token

AmyRI · January 2012

In my experience, LC's and pediatricians are both too intense, but in opposite ways. LC's preach no intervention, only breastmilk. Pediatricians like being able to quantify exactly what a baby consumes in a day and control how much of each vitamin/nutrient/etc the baby gets. I think it's perfectly reasonable to question a doctor's judgement, but your DH also has the right to question the LC's judgement. Now you both need to do more research and decide for yourselves.

The only vitamin we supplement with is vitamin D. I have seen no evidence that giving excess vitamin D poses any risk to the baby. Iron, however, has a lot of conflicting research. The LC is right that the supplemental iron inhibits baby's ability to digest the iron in breastmilk. Some research has shown that there is risk in supplementing with iron when it is not needed. It is a much more controvertial topic in general.

I had the same reaction to the D-Vi-Sol that my pediatrician recommended. We now use the Carlson Kids D-Drops. One drop of coconut oil and vitamin D, no other additives. Our pedi has not recommended supplementing with anything else.

Call your pedi and ask which vitamins he really thinks are important, and make him explain why. If he wants you to supplement with iron, consider having him test your LO to see if he's actually anemic first.

tokenhoser · January 2012

I supplement only vitamin D. That's all my doctor has ever encouraged.

In my climate, we do not get adequate sun to make vitamin D. It's not even possible to do so here, 6 months of the year. I think that's why they push it so hard. I've looked into it, and I agree that supplementing is a good idea.

I don't think poly-vi-sol or iron are necessary for a normal, healthy, breastfed infant.

AwBeth · January 2012

Ditto PPs about Vitamin D. Just because your son is growing and is healthy, doesn't mean he has every vitamin that he needs. Just like adults who eat healthy, sometimes our diets are lacking particular vitamins. (I suppose you took prenatal vitamins during your pregnancy?) Studies show that breastfed babies do need additional Vitamin D.

hlc820 · January 2012

Vitamin D as I live in northeast and sun exposure isn't often and sunscreen will block it when it is

JWSchwarz · January 2012

Two things:

1) It sounds like you don't like your Pedi very much. Why not find a new one?

2) Poly-vi-sol is really just Vitamin D, not a multivitamin. It's the only vitamin your milk doesn't provide naturally because you have to get it from sunlight exposure. Unless you or your baby are out in the sun w/ skin exposed 10 minutes a day you are probably deficient. You could order it online without the iron. This is completely different from giving your baby "Vitamins".

tangerine1126 · January 2012

Our pedi recommended the D-Vi-Sol (just vitamin d) when we first met for our 2 week check-up even though he was completely healthy. DS took it well for the first week, then after that it made his stomach upset and he spit up (a lot) every time. At his 2-month checkup doc told me not to worry about giving it to him anymore since it made him spit up so much. He then recommended we try the Poly-Vi-Sol because he has had patients with better results with that as far as stomach upset goes. Doc didn't make a big deal out of it either way.

I believe your doc probably suggested the vitamins to you due to the recommendations by the medical community regarding vitamin D, not because your baby seemed like he was lacking any. He may recommend the Poly-Vi-Sol instead of the D-Vi-Sol due to a lot of his patients getting upset stomachs.

I haven't tried the Poly-Vi-Sol. I plan to try it, I just haven't been to the local grocery store that carries it. I'm obviously not very worried about it, either. I take DS for walks when the weather permits and he seems perfectly healthy.

I don't see this as something you and your hubby should need to have arguments over, it's really not a huge deal IMO. As long as baby isn't cooped up in a cellar with no sunlight and you maintain a good diet, your baby will probably continue to be fine without added vitamins if you don't want to give them to him. My suggestion: do some research yourself and make the decision you feel most comfortable with.

VMRRN23 · January 2012

We give ds poly-vi-sol with iron when his hemoglobin came back low. We use the brand name vitamin ( I think it is enfamil) and it tastes SO much better than the generic poly- vi- sol. Ds blood levels were normal 1 month after taking them ( I EBF for a year). IMO, vitamins are fine. If D S got formula, he would be getting tons of extra vitamins since formula is fortified.

I take prematals still for myself and agree with giving most of my patients vitamins ( I'm an ICU RN).

Jacqui105 · January 2012

Personally, I ask my pedi at every well visit if my LO needs vitamins, and her answer is always, " as long as you are taking you prenatal vitamin, no." So we have not done vitamins for LO. It just seems like it varies from doctor to doctor. And personally, we have, well LO has been, perfectly fine without them.

VMRRN23 · January 2012

Also, if you are worried about absorption, give the vitamins 1 hour after nursing and ttwo hours before nursing if you can. ( those are the rules for iron and cows milk, although I never heard of an interaction with BMW and vitamins, I didn't think it bonded that way due to our enzymes).

VMRRN23 · January 2012

Sorry for the spelling errors, I'm on the iPhone.

Lilena · January 2012

JWSchwarz:
Two things:

1) It sounds like you don't like your Pedi very much. Why not find a new one?
2) Poly-vi-sol is really just Vitamin D, not a multivitamin. It's the only vitamin your milk doesn't provide naturally because you have to get it from sunlight exposure. Unless you or your baby are out in the sun w/ skin exposed 10 minutes a day you are probably deficient. You could order it online without the iron. This is completely different from giving your baby "Vitamins".

^ this

Angela814 · January 2012

I didn't actually read your whole post...

Neither of my DDs got vitamins as babies. Our pedi never recommended them, and she knew that I was bfing.

We just started giving DD1 (5.5 yrs) vitamins if we remember. She has the gummy flinstone kind, but she probably one gets them a few times a week. DD2 is still nursing, so IMO, she doesn't need any vitamins.

AmyRI · January 2012

JWSchwarz:

2) Poly-vi-sol is really just Vitamin D, not a multivitamin. It's the only vitamin your milk doesn't provide naturally because you have to get it from sunlight exposure. Unless you or your baby are out in the sun w/ skin exposed 10 minutes a day you are probably deficient. You could order it online without the iron. This is completely different from giving your baby "Vitamins".

This is wrong. Poly-Vi-Sol is exactly giving your baby "vitamins." It is a multivitamin containing vitamins A, B6, C, D, E, and Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, and (in the case of the OP but is not always true, depending on the version you buy), Iron.

If you want vitamin D only, Enfamil only sells the D-Vi-Sol. All the other versions are multivitamins.

kyethra · January 2012

yes, and we are disappointed no one advised us. we supplement DHA because most mothers are deficient. this leads to deficient babies and children. i take a prenatal plus folic acid and vitamin d. like most of the population my vitamin d levels tend to be low. i want my baby to have good levels since studies show the importance.

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