When we talk about T scores, osteopenia and osteoporosis, we assume we are talking about older people, especially post-menopausal women. However, a group of obstetricians and pediatricians from the University of Sienna, led by Dr. Franco Bagnoli, reported that 42% of infants have osteopenia.
What I like was that the authors said, “To be safe, vitamin D administration should be increased to 2,000 IU/day for neonates, 5,000 IU/day for children and 10,000 IU/day for all adults.” Obstetricians are generally regarded as the one group of physicians that seldom change their mind. My hat is off to these seven obstetricians.
So many infants have craniotabes, or softening of the fontanels, it is considered normal although such infants show signs of vitamin D deficiency. That is, about a third of our infants show evidence of having low vitamin D during their development in the womb.
Finally, if you look at the incidence of rickets inside the womb by ultrasound, about a third of infants have signs of intrauterine rickets (splaying or widening of the femur) during their pregnancy.
Then there is the evidence that vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy is associated infection, toxemia and caesarean section, not to mention a host of diseases as the child ages, including diabetes, asthma, and infections. If you know any pregnant or breastfeeding woman, make sure she is taking at least 6,000 IU/day (10,000 IU/day is fine) and then make sure the child takes 2,000 IU/day of vitamin D when he is weaned and progressively more as he ages, until he is on 5,000 IU/day as a teenager.
Geesh, the dosages keep going up and up! What blood levels are they looking for?
and this report seems to be saying that breast fed babies are at higher risk. Time to start a campaign to get moms on vitamin D3 supplements during pregnancy
and breastfeeding
Geesh, the dosages keep going up and up! What blood levels are they looking for?
and this report seems to be saying that breast fed babies are at higher risk. Time to start a campaign to get moms on vitamin D3 supplements during pregnancy
and breastfeeding
Hollis and Wagner did some work on Vitamin D in Pregnancy and Lactation and found 4000iu was required to satisfy the mothers needs during pregnancy and 6400iu during lactation was required to ensure breast milk was Vit d replete.
If they found that at latitude 32N Charleston then anyone further north is going to require more than that because they get less from sunlight.