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What is the recommended daily dose of vitamin D for infants in Canada?

October 25, 2018

How much vitamin D should you give your baby? What are the vitamin D recommendations for infants in Canada? We get asked these questions a lot!

Is my child considered an ‘infant’?

Your child is considered to be an infant until their first birthday. After that, they fall into the category of toddlers to teens and health authorities have different recommendations for them.

How much vitamin D should I give my baby?

Every child is different, and we cannot recommend dosing specific to your child’s needs. We can, however, provide you with the recommended vitamin D dosing for infants from many groups here in Canada.

Insert chart for ‘What is the recommended daily dose of vitamin D for infants in Canada?

Is this recommendation the same for all infants?

Health Canada recommends that all breastfed, healthy term babies receive a daily vitamin D supplement of 400 IU a day until one year of age.

Infants who are partially breastfed should also receive a vitamin D supplement of 400 IU. They should get this amount regardless of their average formula intake.

This combination of formula and supplement is unlikely to exceed the upper level of 1000 IU per day. If your baby is exclusively formula fed, The American Academy of Pediatrics still recommends a supplement for infants consuming less than 1000 mL of formula daily.

Your healthcare practitioner is the best person to speak with regarding your specific needs around vitamin D supplementation.

Looking for vitamin D recommendations for toddlers to teens, for adults, or pregnant women in Canada?

Interested in the guidelines for the UK or US? Click here.

  1. [1] A joint statement of Health Canada, Canadian Paediatric Society, Dietitians of Canada, and Breastfeeding Committee for Canada. May 2014. http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/nutrition/infant-nourisson/recom/index-eng.php
  2. [2] Canadian Paediatric Society, First Nations and Inuit Health Committee [Principal author: J Godel]. Vitamin D supplementation in northern Native communities. Paediatric Child Health 2002;7:459-63.
  3. [3] Canadian Cancer Society. Vitamin D. February 27, 2014. http://www.cancer.ca/en/prevention-and-screening/live-well/vitamin-d/?region=on
Tags: baby, bone, breast is best, breastmilk, calcium, child, infant, recommendations, sun, teeth, toddler, vitamin D