When it comes to newborns, parents just want what's best. Proper nutrition is essential to the growth and development of infants. Vitamins play a key role in that development, and while they're often found in breast milk or formula, it's crucial to provide adequate vitamins and supplements if necessary.
Vitamins
Vitamins are micronutrients, which means they don't provide energy, or calories. Nonetheless, without vitamins infants won't grow properly and if they're vitamin-deficient, they can become sick.
Vitamins in Breast Milk
Breast milk is the best source of vitamins for a growing infant, but the vitamins in breast milk directly reflect the amount of vitamins the mother is getting through her diet. Breast milk provides nursing infants with: vitamin A which is crucial for healthy teeth and vision and vitamin C, which builds immunity and prevents diseases like scurvy.
Nursing mothers tend to stay on multivitamins to ensure their infants are receiving adequate nutrition.
Vitamins in Formula
While breast milk is the preferred method of feeding by dietitians and doctors, formula offers a great source of infant nutrition. Formula provides infants with vitamin D, which helps prevent rickets and builds strong bones. Vitamin D is not adequate in breast milk.
Supplements
Generally, infants don't need supplements; they get what they need to grow from milk or formula. However, newborns may be given an injection of vitamin K, which aids blood clotting. Breastfed infants are at a higher risk of vitamin K deficiency if not given a supplemental shot at birth.
A vitamin D supplement of 200 IU each day is recommended for exclusively breastfed infants.
Deficiencies
In some cases, if an infant doesn't receive proper nutrition, be it calories, vitamins, minerals or macronutrients, the growing baby can usually catch up if the malnutrition hasn't been going on for years. This is called catch-up growth, and it can be achieved by feeding the baby proper nutrition.
If a baby has been deficient of certain nutrition for a long period of time, he may never get back on a normal growth curve, and this can result in both physical and mental problems.
Vitamin A deficiency can lead to blindness. Vitamin C deficiency can result in scurvy. An inadequate intake of vitamin D can lead to rickets, a weakening and softening of the bones.
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