Assuring Micronutrient Adequacy in the Diets of Young Infants

B Vitamins in Breast Milk: Relative Importance of Maternal Status and Intake, and Effects on Infant Status and function

“…Assuming that the AI recommendations are correct, it is clear that intakes of exclusively breast-fed infants fed by deficient mothers can be very inadequate. In our previous publication on this topic, we also found that estimated intakes compared to the AI could be 56% for vitamin A, 50% for vitamin C, 6-23% for iodine, and 52% for selenium (7).…”

“…Any reported effects of maternal supplementation on the mother, breast milk, and infant were also noted. This review updates a similar approach that the authors published nearly a decade ago (7) and expands the information on B vitamins.…”

Causes of Vitamin B12 and Folate Deficiency

“…The Norwegian investigators concluded that a substantial number of infants have insufficient vitamin B 12 to support homocysteine remethylation in this well-nourished population [39]. Infants born to vitamin B 12 -deficient mothers are at very high risk of developing deficiency because of their low stores of the vitamin at birth [37] and the fact that concentrations of the vitamin in their mothers' breastmilk will be inadequate [33,40,41]. Maternal plasma and breastmilk vitamin B 12 concentrations are quite strongly correlated in most studies.…”

How Breastfeeding Works

“…Although the mother's diet does not affect the concentrations of lactose, fat, and protein in breast milk, diet does affect the concentrations of some vitamins and minerals in breast milk 8 . There is a relationship between the content of vitamins A, B1 (thiamin), B2 (riboflavin), B5 (pantothenic acid), B6 (pyridoxine), B12 (cobalamin), D, and E, and selenium and iodine in human milk and the maternal diet 11,12 . Breastfed infants of vegan mothers may need supplements of vitamin B12 if their maternal diet is inadequate 13 .…”