What is the recommended daily dose of vitamin D for infants in the UK?
How much vitamin D should you give your baby? What are the vitamin D recommendations for infants in the UK? 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 the United Kingdom.
Is this recommendation the same for all infants?
The UK Department of Health recommends that all breastfed babies receive a daily vitamin D supplement of 8.5 -10 micrograms from birth to age one in the form of drops.
If infants receive infant formula, they may not require additional vitamin D supplementation if their formula is fortified with vitamin D. Once an infant receives more than 500 mL of infant formula per day, vitamin D supplements are typically not required unless recommended by your healthcare practitioner.
Looking for vitamin D recommendations for toddlers to teens , for adults, or pregnant women in the UK?
Interested in the guidelines for the Canada or US? Click here.
- Vitamins and minerals – Vitamin D. NHS. http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitamins-minerals/pages/vitamin-d.aspx
- British Paediatric and Adolescent Bone Group’s position statement on vitamin D deficiency BMJ 2012;345:e8182 doi: 10.1136/bmj.e8182 (Published 3 December 2012)
- Vitamin D: Increasing Supplements use among at-risk groups. NICE. https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ph56
- SACN vitamin D and health report. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sacn-vitamin-d-and-health-report