Abstract
Daily vitamin D supplementation is recommended for breastfed infants, but alternative methods include enriching breast milk with vitamin D through maternal supplementation or intermittent high-dose vitamin D. We determined maternal preferences for vitamin D supplementation in 140 mothers with exclusively breastfed infants, and 44 who used both breast and formula milk. Only 101 (55%) supplemented their infants with vitamin D. One hundred sixty (88%) preferred supplementing themselves rather than their infants, and 102 (57%) preferred daily to monthly supplementation. Safety was most important in choosing a method of supplementation. Taking maternal preferences into consideration may improve adequate intakes of vitamin D in breastfed infants.
Footnotes
Conflicts of interest: Dr Thacher is a consultant for Biomedical Systems, Inc, and has received a speaking honorarium from Sandoz. The other authors report none.
Funding support: This study was supported by Mayo Clinic CTSA through grant number UL1 TR000135 from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), a component of the NIH.
Disclaimer: The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.
Previous presentation: Posters were presented at the North American Primary Care Research Group Annual Meeting, October 24–28, 2015, Cancun, Mexico; and the Seoul International Congress of Endocrinology and Metabolism, April 30–May 3, 2016, Seoul, Korea.
- Received for publication May 5, 2016.
- Revision received September 1, 2016.
- Accepted for publication October 16, 2016.
- © 2017 Annals of Family Medicine, Inc.
