Vitamin D is an incredibly important nutrient (technically, a hormone) that regulates numerous functions in the body, from blood sugar metabolism, to brain function, to thyroid health, to bone strength.
It seems to be involved, on some level, in just about every bodily system.
As I’ve written about before, vitamin D deficiency is both common and entirely treatable.
Since I specialize in prenatal nutrition, I tend to get a lot of questions about nutrition for breastfeeding. I’ve discussed it several times on the blog and in podcast interviews.
Breastfeeding is a unique time when nutrient demands are high, as both mom and baby are reliant on maternal intake or maternal nutrient stores.
Vitamin D Supplement for Breastfeeding Mothers: How Much?
Studies on the vitamin D content of breastmilk show that most women’s milk is low in vitamin D. This has led some to believe that vitamin D doesn’t transfer to breastmilk in sufficient quantities, but that’s an uneducated conclusion.
Why would breastmilk be a poor source of vitamin D?
Because most women don’t get enough themselves!
As vitamin D researcher, Dr. Bruce Hollis, explains:
“From the standpoint of nature, low vitamin D content in breast milk is an odd circumstance. Would nature allow so little vitamin D in breast milk that the nursing infant would develop rickets from ingesting it? We did not believe so. Our belief was that breast milk was deficient in vitamin D due solely to lack of solar exposure and dietary recommendations for vitamin D put forth in recent decades.“ (Pediatrics, 2015)
Breastmilk is SUPPOSED to have enough vitamin D in it for you and baby, but if you are not taking in enough vitamin D, there’s simply not enough to transfer into breastmilk.
This is the primary reason the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends supplementing breastfed infants with 400 IU per day (formula is fortified with vitamin D, so the levels are consistent, which is why this recommendation is solely for breastfed infants).
The problem is, few pediatricians get the word out and/or not many follow through with the advice. In fact, only 2-19% of infants end up supplemented with vitamin D. (Pediatrics, 2015)
That’s tragic, because early life vitamin D deficiency is extremely common:
“Vitamin D deficiency is almost universal among solely breastfed infants not receiving oral vitamin D supplementation.” (Pediatrics, 2015)
And it can lead to major problems, like rickets (extremely weak and brittle bones).
In my eyes, given everything we know about vitamin D, wouldn’t you want to correct the source of the problem – maternal vitamin D intake?
One fabulous study did just that. They compared maternal vitamin D supplementation (alone – at several different doses) to infant vitamin D supplementation (standard 400 IU).
This study tracked maternal and infant vitamin D levels at baseline, 4 months and 7 months (as well as vitamin D levels in breastmilk – measured as “antirachitic activity”).
The gist of their findings: Women receiving 6400 IU of vitamin D per day had higher vitamin D levels and passed enough vitamin D into their breastmilk to meet the demands of their baby (without the need to directly give the baby a separate infant vitamin D supplement).
(Side note: The study originally was trying to test lower doses of maternal vitamin D supplementation as well, but had to stop the 2400 IU arm of the study for ethical reasons, namely, because infants were not receiving enough vitamin D from breastmilk alone.)
What does this mean for breastfeeding moms?
You have the option to take vitamin D yourself (6,400 IU per day) to boost the vitamin D content of your breastmilk instead of giving a separate supplement to your infant.
To me, this a two-birds-with-one-stone situation.
Both you and your baby need vitamin D. Why not take it yourself?
One important note from this study: Don’t assume that the vitamin D levels in your breastmilk will be high if your blood levels are adequate.
Circulating 25-OH vitamin D does not readily transfer into breastmilk, but vitamin D (from sunlight, food and supplements) does.
This is counterintuitive, but a very important distinction to know about:
“Universally, the antirachitic activity of human milk is quite low, 5 to 80 IU/L, unless the lactating mother is ingesting a significant amount of vitamin D daily or getting significant total body UV exposure. It is the parent compound, vitamin D itself, which overwhelmingly gets transferred into human milk from the maternal circulation. This is an important yet almost universally misunderstood fact. Although circulating vitamin D readily gains access to human milk, circulating 25(OH)D does not, and this transfer relationship occurs over a massive range of vitamin D intakes and/or circulating levels. Thus, one cannot assume that because a lactating mother’s circulating 25(OH)D level is adequate, her milk vitamin D activity will be.” (Pediatrics, 2015)
Before you go, I’d love to hear from you:
Did your doctor/pediatrician recommend a vitamin D supplement (for either you or baby)?
Let me know in the comments below.
Until next week,
Lily
PS – Many people mistakenly believe they can get enough vitamin D by sitting outside in the sun for 15 minutes a few days a week or drinking milk. Be sure to read my post on vitamin D: 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Vitamin D for the truth on these common vitamin D myths.
PPS – Are you a research junkie like me? If you’d like to read the full study about vitamin D supplements and breastfeeding, it’s open access and freely available from Dr. Google:
Hollis, Bruce W., et al. “Maternal versus infant vitamin D supplementation during lactation: a randomized controlled trial.” Pediatrics 136.4 (2015): 625-634.
My doctor has never said anything about any supplements except giving me a few samples of prenatal vitamins. I was recently diagnosed with gestational diabetes and have been trying everything to get my fasting sugars down. I’m wondering if lack of Vitamin D is part of the problem. I ordered your book and I’m waiting anxiously for it to arrive. I only have 6 weeks left and am afraid my baby has been exposed to unmanaged blood sugars for too long. Thank you for all the great information you’re putting out!
Yes, vitamin D does play a role in insulin resistance and deficiency can be one factor in gestational diabetes (though there are many, many potential factors to consider). There’s a section in my book, Real Food for Gestational Diabetes, specifically on vitamin D. See the supplement chapter for more! (And I go more in-depth on the topic in my online course. 😉
Good luck with the final weeks of pregnancy, Jess. All of the work you’re putting in now to manage your blood sugar is absolutely worth it.
Yes, my OB has tested my vitamin D level, and it is a little low. She has me on 2000 IU of D3 and has encouraged me to increase when I begin breastfeeding. I am currently 32 weeks pregnant with baby #4.
It’s good your doctor has tested your vitamin D levels and has you supplementing, Jennifer. The research on vitamin D and pregnancy shows that 4,000 IU is more effective at raising vitamin D levels than lower doses.
“It is concluded that vitamin D supplementation of 4000 IU/d for pregnant women is safe and most effective in achieving sufficiency in all women and their neonates regardless of race, whereas the current estimated average requirement is comparatively ineffective at achieving adequate circulating 25(OH)D concentrations, especially in African Americans.”
Might be worth it to discuss this research article with her: Hollis, Bruce W., et al. “Vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy: Double‐blind, randomized clinical trial of safety and effectiveness.” Journal of bone and mineral research 26.10 (2011): 2341-2357.
Our pediatrician told us that we should supplement our infant with vitamin D and is pretty adamant about it saying I’m the only breastfeeding mom she’s seen who doesn’t give vitamin D. I asked if it’s necessary if my levels are normal (I’m in the the sun a lot!). She said yes, because it doesn’t transfer through breast milk. The study you mention disproved this, yes?
Correct. Breast milk CAN supply enough vitamin D if mom is taking in enough from supplementation, sun exposure, or food. Usually it’s supplementation or sun exposure, as dietary intake of vitamin D isn’t enough to satisfy the demands of the nutrient.
Vitamin D supplement was recommended by my hospital regardless of formula or breast-feeding. However my pediatrician told me differently that breastmilk is completely sufficient and I should not have to supplement Thank you for this very informative article ! I will now be increasing the amount I take myself!
Yeah, sounds like your doctor didn’t get the full memo on vitamin D and breastmilk! Feel free to share this article with them.
Nope. I have had 3 children, two are adults now, and three different doctors. Not one suggested vit. D. My oldest bf her first and then her second. But her second was taken to the ER one night due to a fall from his bigger sibling, (while on the ground, sitting (he didn’t walk, now we know why he didn’t have any teeth yet too) and nonstop crying. Then a whole case of child protection was involved. Come to find out it was due to a lack of vit. D. NOT ONE SINGLE DOCTOR suggested this. The doctor on the case still won’t admit it was the lack of vit. D, but the CASA worker, bless her! She is a hero. On a side note, the investigative officer on the case lied to me about the damage of the bone likening it to being smashed in a car door. There was never any outward sign of injury other than the crying. All charges have been dropped, but can you tell I’m still angry at the doctors and authorities about this? If we can’t trust the doctor’s who can we trust?
Thank you for your blog. I wish I had seen this a year and a few months ago.
What an unfortunate and upsetting experience! I’ve heard similar stories from the Vitamin D Council about parents facing suspected abuse charges because of broken bones that were in fact caused by vitamin D deficiency (rickets). I’m so glad the charges were dropped and the case worker was up-to-speed on vitamin D. Wow.
While not related to breastfeeding, I’m really interested in your feedback on the vitamin D article at this link:
http://nutritionalbalancing.org/center/htma/science/articles/vitamin-d.php
The practitioner of Chinese medicine who pointed me to this link advised me to stop taking vit D, said I was probably poisoning myself (I had been taking 5000 IU in winter).
I don’t know how to reconcile such differing information!
Thanks a bunch.
I live in Uruguay and here all new mums are told to supplement their babys with vit D until baby is one year old. My son’s pediatrician told me to continue until summer becouse my baby’s birthday is in winter. I can’t believe we are doing something better than in the USA!!!
I live in Uruguay and here all new mums are told to supplement their babys with vit D until baby is one year old. My son’s pediatrician told me to continue until summer becouse my baby’s birthday is in winter. I can’t believe we are doing something better than in the USA!!!
I bet there are a lot of things done better in Uruguay than in the US.
I used to have a good doctor who was big on natural therapies, holistic medicine, etc. but then he moved to another state. 🙁 He did recommend vitamin D for me.
I’d be interested to know how much vitamin D a pregnant woman should have (I’m sure the recommendations for that are way underestimated like many other nutrients). I’m about 12 weeks and also breastfeeding an 18 month old. My vitamin D levels are pretty low (33 in whatever measurement we use in Australia, 60+ is recommended).
I would suggest having your levels tested to determine a dosage. Since you’re still nursing, I’d use that as a starting point and fine tune a dosage with input from your healthcare practitioner.
Months ago I asked my daughters pediatrician about vit d supplements for her. She told me that vit d supplements start at 6 months. My daughter is now 4 months old and I have yet to give her vit d because of what her doctor told me. Is it too late for me to start taking the recommended 6400 IU myself and supplement her that way? Would the vit d I start talking be immediately available in my breast milk? I am very worried. Thank you in advance.
My pediatrician has suggested vitamin D drops for my baby at every appointment. Since I’d read your newest book prior to having my baby, I knew about vitamin d supplementation for myself. So I just told the dr I was doing it (knowing full well that drs don’t always keep up with the research) and took your recommended amount of 6,400 IU per day. I actually usually get more like 7,400-8,000 IU per day because I take a calcium supplement that also has vitamin d in addition to the vitamin d in my prenatal vitamin that I’m still taking and any in the milk I drink. This is my fifth baby though and it’s the first time I’ve ever been told to supplement with vitamin d. When my first four (born in 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2012), I got told to give them iron drops all the time. But never vitamin d. Now I get told vitamin d but not iron. I’m glad because those iron drops are gross!
Hi! Is it safe to take 7400 of vitamin d? I ordered a lactation vitamin that has 6400 but my omega 3 has 1000 d3. Thank you!
After reading your book for pregnancy, I asked my doctor if she thought we should test my vitamin D….she said, “oh no, if your eating dairy you should be just fine.” I was not convinced by her response, so I took your advise and have been supplementing 4,000iu each day. I’m 38 weeks now, and this post was so helpful to know how much to take while breastfeeding (very soon!). THANK YOU LILY! You’ve been THE. MOST. helpful resource, so naturally I tell evvvvveryone about your book!
I had to ask my OB to test during pregnancy to see how my levels change. My primary physician is very thorough and routinely checks my levels and adjusts my dose. I was already taking 4,000 IU prior to this pregnancy. I am now taking a higher, more appropriate dose. Thank you for the information in your book, as it prompted me to ask my prenatal endocrinologist to test again. He gladly did!
Thanks for this! My pediatrician recommended a supplement for my breastfed baby buy I never knew it was an option for for me to take instead. I’m pregnant again and my prenatal has 1000 IU. Would you advise me taking an additional supplement to get to the 6400 now I’m pregnancy or is it something I should wait for until after baby comes?
I only found out after birth that I was low in VitD. Just below what they consider normal in Australia – they gave me a supplement for the baby and told me to also try and go out in the sunshine with her.
I’ll be looking into what else I can do for the both of us now 🙂
No doctor has ever mentioned vitamin D supplements for me. Luckily, I have YOU to help me! I am currently 7 weeks pregnant and taking 6400 IU/Day of vitamin D3. I began supplementing at this level a few weeks prior to conception after researching common pregnancy vitamin deficiencies and having my own blood levels come back low (they were 20-something, when they should be 40-60+). My 6400 IU comes from combining a Thorne prenatal multivitamin (1000 IU vitamin D3, as well as folate and 200 mcg B12!), a Nordic Naturals prenatal DHA+EPA (400 IU vitamin D3), and a SportsResearch K2+D3 supplement (5000 IU vitamin D3). I’m also taking a choline supplement (I take the 500 mg on days I don’t eat eggs and the 250 mg on days I eat a couple of eggs). Much of this is thanks to you, your podcast interviews, and your incredible Real Food for Pregnancy book!!! I had my vitamin D levels tested again at 6 weeks pregnant and they were up in the “low normal” range at about 44 (ng/mL). Much better than in the 20’s, but some sources would still consider this insufficient and I wonder if you would recommend I increase my vitamin D supplementation even more beyond the 6400 IU to shoot for blood levels above 50 ng/mL? (I know you can’t offer medical advice, but I hope you can tell me what you would do if you were in my situation.) Thank you!!!
Glad to hear Real Food for Pregnancy has been helpful to you. You can check the sections on vitamin D in Ch 6 & 9 for more guidance. If you really want to dig into the details, I have a 90 min webinar on everything you need to know about vitamin D & pregnancy. It’s designed for clinicians (offers continuing education credits for dietitians), but all are welcome. This gives more information on “optimal” blood levels of vitamin D in pregnancy. Details here: https://whnacademy.com/product/everything-you-need-to-know-about-vitamin-d-and-pregnancy/
This post was very helpful! As a public health dietitian it is so helpful to learn more about these topics, and THANK YOU for sharing the research article as well. I love learning more about women’s health and look forward to participating in some of your webinars soon!
You bet, Lisa. If you’re interested in diving deeper into the science on vitamin D, I have a whole webinar specifically on vitamin D & pregnancy. If nutrient transfer into breast milk is something you want to learn more about, I also have a webinar on that topic covering 125 studies (full citation list included in all webinars), where I cover vitamin D and a whole slew of other micronutrients. Both webinars offer CEUs for dietitians.
Could you please share the citation list?
What about the Vitamin D in prenatal vitamins? I continue to take my during breastfeeding…the label shows Vitamin D3 10mcg (400 IU). From reading the info above, am I correct in understanding that’s not near enough?
My pediatrician (she’s more holistic in approach) recommended a supplement of at least 5000IU/day. My SIL pedi told her just to give the recommended does to her baby because it doesn’t transfer to breastmilk. So glad you cleared that up!
Your other recent post had me intrigued because my first baby was premature. I was taking vitamin D at the beginning of this (2nd) pregnancy and was told to stop. I’m going to bring the study to them and show them that it could be beneficial! …I didn’t stop.
Thanks for all of your posts! You’re great!!
Our pediatrician did recommend supplementation or said I need to supplement with at least 6400 IU. So glad his advice jives with this :). I liked him anyway but have s new respect for him.
Hi Lily! My sister bought me your book and i love it! Thank you for putting effort into helping us! IN your supplements/vitamins chapter, you mention a link for your recommendations. Which brand prenatal do you recommend? Maybe you can create a prenatal pill? thank you!
My pediatrician did recommend I give my baby a supplement, but I did not understand why breastfeeding would not provide the nutrition my baby needed so I rarely gave it to her. I wish she would have suggested I took a supplement. I probably would have done that.
My Vitamin D levels were checked in my first trimester bloodwork and I was found to be deficient (and this was in the height of summer!). My midwife suggested a supplement but also said to make sure my prenatal had vitamin D (it did, so I never took more than that). She also said to simply walk outside for 15-20 minutes a day during peak sun exposure. I now know that i was probably still was low in Vitamin D. I also developed GD. My pediatrician never mentioned Vitamin D for my baby while breastfeeding. I didn’t see this research until after my baby was already 6 months old.
Should I take a higher dose than 6400 if nursing 2 babies?
That’s a good question and unfortunately, there’s no research on this yet.
The pediatrician we are currently seeing (for 4 week old) really pushes the use if vit D for the baby supplement nothing about momma. I immediately asked for a recommendation that was NOT Enfamil and she recommended Carsons vitamin D drop for baby. I went home to do more research and discovered the 6400iu amount and went that route to ensure both of us got what we ought to be getting. ♡
Each of my three kids had different pediatricians as infants and all prescribed a vitamin D supplement. At one time I had extremely low vitamin D levels and supplement 10000 IUs daily. It makes me feel better to know this supplementation helps my baby as I haven’t been as good at giving my 9 month old her supplement as I was with my others.
Would you lower the Vitamin D3 recommendation of 6000 IU based on the Vitamin D3 levels in the prenatal vitamin if the woman continues to take those while breastfeeding? I know prenatal vitamins tend to be lower in Vitamin D3, so I’m wondering if the total Vitamin D3 (prenatals plus Vitamin D3 supplement) should be around 6000 IU?
Nevermind! I read through the comments and found that you offer a webinar, I will look into that, thank you for all you do!
Total intake of 6,400 IU is recommended. Just keep in mind that vitamin D is a complex nutrient, so many factors can play into your individual vitamin D needs. See this post for more: https://lilynicholsrdn.com/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-vitamin-d/
Hi I was taking 5000iu evetyday but my breastfed baby started vomiting (excessive gas built up) Everytime I take vitd..if I stop taking she’s fine. What do I do ? Both of us need vitd we get skin issues if we don’t take enough vitd. And we don’t live in place with abundant sunshine either
Hi, My pediatrician gave us a sample size Vitamin D3 of 600IU on our second visit. I take 500 IU in my prenatal and an extra 5000IU D3.
Is this too much? Also, I was wondering if you had any suggestions for vitamins nursing mothers can take. I was taking the Seeking Health Prenatal and loved it but it’s a bit too costly for me to continue.
Thank you,
Mia
Thank you for all your research. I got your book as I am planning to become pregnant. I asked my doctor to test my Vitamin D and I was low, really low. I live in Canada. I upped my Vitamin D to 4000IU and my range is great!y doctor now recommends your book to families in his practice.
AAP recommends 400 IU vit D for formula fed infants as well until they take 1 Liter (32 oz) per day of formula. Below 32 oz, the total daily amount provided by formula does not reach the recommended daily 400 IU.
I specifically asked my doctor if I needed to start supplementing my daughter once she weans from nursing. Doctor said it wasn’t necessary because baby was white and it was about to be summer ( we live in MO).
My pediatrician has recommended the vitamin D drops with both of my babies. At my littlest one’s 1 month check up the NP who saw us mentioned that I could also supplement with extra Vitamin D (she said around 7000 IU). I already take a vitamin D supplement so I was thankful for her advice on this and I remembered you had information about it, so I was glad to be able to find this post and excited that their recommendations and yours lined up! Thanks for all the research you share.
By “also” I mean she said I could supplement myself instead of the drops. I realized that wasn’t clear
My first daughter’s pediatrician never mentioned anything about vitamin D until I asked about it when she was a toddler. My second daughter’s pediatrician (we switched) DID mention supplementing her per AAP recommendation. When I asked about my own supplementation to fortify my breast milk, they told me not much Vit D transfers to breast milk. I’m currently taking 4,000 iu, which I did the entire time I was pregnant (along with eggs and liver 😉 It’s also happens to be summer time so perhaps after reading your 10 things to know about Vit D, I can continue with my daily 4,000 iu + liver/eggs + some beloved sun basking (I grew up in CA 🙂
My pediatrician never brought it up. I asked when our baby was around 1-2 weeks old. Then they said they have to have it no matter what. I asked if I ensured I was getting in rough Vitamin D, would that be okay. They said it wasn’t possible for me to get in enough and NONE of the vitamin D I took would get through my breast milk. The fact they went as far to say none of it would make it completely shocked me. So I did more of my own research and do what I am most comfortable with.
My son is almost 6 months and our pediatrician did recommend vit d. I just never did it. I don’t take a supplement. Is there a ever a point its too late? Can I just start taking the 6400 IUI now?
Hi Lily, I started taking 6000iu of Vitamin D about a month ago after listening to your breastfeeding nutrition podcast episode. At my last well baby checkup, I mentioned this to my doctor and she firmly told me that taking so much vitamin D is potentially harmful because the unused portion isn’t filtered out in our urine like other vitamins. She also said it is impossible for Vitamin D to transfer through my milk to my daughter. Could you weigh in on the likelihood of this dosage of Vitamin D being harmful for me / and not getting to my baby?
My pediatrician told me that breast milk has an insufficient amount of vitamin D and that I should begin giving supplements to my baby. I immediately questioned this because I know that our population is notoriously deficient in vitamin D. I’ve been taking vitamin D supplements myself and I found that study that mentioned the 6400 IUs a day and simply upped my dosage. Thanks for writing this post! It gave me more confidence in my own research.
I have never been told specifically to take vitamin D but in Norway (where I live) the recommendation is to give your newborn 5 drops everyday from when they’re a week old. They also tell the general public to take vitamin D throughout the year apart from the summer months.
Thank you so much for this article! I was still pregnant With my third child when I read somewhere that you must give your baby 400 IU of vitamin D if you plan to breastfeed ( I breastfed my second child for a year and my pediatrician NEVER told me this! I was not getting enough from supplementing.) I did more research and found out that if I was getting the adequate amount of vitamin D3 then my baby would get it through the breastmilk. I have since before I got pregnant taken 10,000 IU daily, All through pregnancy and while breastfeeding. After I gave birth my pediatrician told me I must supplement, But because of the extensive research I had done I knew I was supplementing enough vitamin D to have plenty for Her in the breast milk. She is 4 months old now And the pediatrician asked if I was still supplementing The baby with vitamin D, I told her I took vitamin D3 and she told me that vitamin D does not pass through breast milk and gave me samples of vitamin D for my baby. I felt scared that I’ve been doing it wrong all this time and it was such a relief to read your article! Doctors are so in the dark about these things! Thanks again!!
I specifically asked out pediatrician about vitamin D supplementation. He said as long as I took a prenatal, there was no need. My prenatal certainly doesn’t have 6,400 IU! I’ve been taking 4,000 IU over winter in addition to the prenatal. That was a random amount I settled on. Thank you for this research! I’ll increase the amount even though I’m 10 months pp. it’s disheartening because it feels too late.
What to do once an exclusively breastfed baby starts to take solids alongside breastmilk for many months?
I have been taking 10,000IU vitamin D3 daily since my baby’s birth, he is nearly 11 months old now and I hope to breastfeed him for as long as he wants and I’m comfortable. As he’ll take less and less milk from me, shall I start supplementing him (as well as me) to be on the safe side? Can this lead to excess amounts for him if I keep supplementing?
I am so in the dark on this, and of course all health care professionals refer us to the national guidelines that advise to only supplement baby directly, ignoring this new research.
Thank you for your work and for providing accessible information and links to up to date research.
It’s a good question. We don’t have data on that scenario. For now, the only data is on exclusively breastfed babies (so birth thru 6 months of age). I’d recommend testing your vitamin D levels.
My pediatrician did bring it up. Also my sister in law lives in Germany, and this is standard for breastfed babies to be on vitamin d, so she told me as well. Just curious, what happens if you choose to get vitamin d through sunshine instead of supplements?
My pediatrician actually recommended I take vitamin D and I believe she recommended this amount as well. The NICU prescribed a vitamin D supplement for baby, she the pediatrician even told me that she’d recommend I take this dose while breastfeeding to give the vitamin to baby rather than giving her the prescription.
Wonderful to hear that your pediatrician is up-to-date on vitamin D and breastfeeding!
If I can only get hold of 5000IU or 2000IU are there any risks of taking too much vit d3?
Additionally if I am taking correct amount do I definitely not need to give the baby the vitamin d drops?
If anyone knows would rly appreciate it!
Hi Lilly! I bought your book on real food for pregnancy.
I take the prenatal brand ” Thera Natal Core” from the brand Theralogix.
I have the rfh mutation but this one seems okay to take based off what I’m understanding. I also take a vit d3 supplement 10,000 IU just to be sure im getting enough vit d3
What are your thoughts on this prenatal? First time mom here
thankyou
In France, breastfed babies are put on a Vit D supplement until 18 months – my Vit D levels were never checked during pregnancy despite having GD from week 28
HELP PLEASE!
I was supplementing myself vitamin D (6400 IU) in a postnatal supplement so that I could pass vitamin D to my baby rather than giving the baby 400 IU drops directly, but my recent bloodwork showed that my Vitamin D 25 Hydroxy level was high at 94.5 ng/mL (their reference range was 30.0-60.0). I’ve seen many different “normal” ranges for adult vitamin D, but to be safe I don’t want it where it currently sits.
I’m trying to either figure out what dose I should take to get her the adequate levels through me, while keeping my serum levels in a good range.
If I can’t do that, I’ll stop supplementing myself and transition to giving her drops, but I don’t know how long to wait to give her drops so that I don’t give her too much (since I still have high enough levels to pass through to her the recommended 400 IU). 
Please help!
Hi,
Thank you for the many articles you have on vitamin D. I am very grateful.
I am currently 30 weeks pregnant and nursing my almost 3 year old who has a very low vitamin d level. I purchased the seeking health.
Will increasing my dosage to the 6400 be enough for pregnancy and my toddler?
My Seattle pediatrician did recommend vitamin D drops for my baby! I find it hard to remember, however, and think we will both be better off if I just increase to 6400 IU per day.
Hello! This might be random lol but in your prenatal pregnancy nutrition book there are references to soybean oil being not the greatest for mamas or mama’s to be, but I’m finding that vitamin d supplements and many others have minor ingredients of soybean oil/sunflower oil ect. Should we be staying away from these types of supplements. I’m seeing that a majority of these, have them in their ingredient lists! Thank you for your time!
There are some that are in a base of coconut oil or olive oil. If the only ones you can find have a soy oil base, it’s probably not too big a concern as the quantity of oil is extremely small. I link several good options for vitamin D supplements in my Fullscript: https://bit.ly/LilyFSrecs
What is known about sun exposure for Mom and baby and D levels? I take a vitamin myself but often don’t when we spend a lot of time outside