A randomized controlled trial has found that women who take high dose vitamin D supplements during breastfeeding also increase the vitamin D status of their infants.
The study, published in The Journal of Nutrition, aimed to determine the effect of two different doses of cholecalciferol on maternal and infant vitamin D status in the first five months of breastfeeding.
During the study 90 pregnant women who planned to exclusively breastfeed for six months were randomly assigned either 50,000iu or 100,000iu cholecalciferol or placebo monthly from week four to week 20 postpartum.
After 16 weeks changes in the serum of the mothers were significantly higher in the 50,000iu and 100,000iu groups than in the placebo group. After the researchers took into account factors such as season of birth and vitamin D formula intake, they found that the infants’ serum changes were also significantly higher than with placebo.
The researchers concluded: “Maternal cholecalciferol supplementation at a dose of 100,000iu/mo during the first five months of breastfeeding potentially benefits infant vitamin D status. Further studies are required to determine optimum does and dosing frequency.”