Vitamin D Supplementation in Children

A national public awareness campaign will be launched tomorrow by the HSE, in collaboration with the Food Safety Authority of Ireland and Department of Health & Children on Vitamin D Supplementation for Infants in Ireland. You may wish to bring this to the attention of members of the INDI.

Parents of all babies, from birth to twelve months, are being advised to give their infants a daily vitamin D supplement to protect their growing bones. This advice comes to parents and guardians from the Health Service Executive (HSE), the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) and the Department of Health and Children.

All babies in Ireland aged from birth up to 12 months, both breastfed or formula fed, should be given a daily supplement of 5 micrograms (5μg) of Vitamin D.

The introduction of the policy will see HSE staff and healthcare workers like paediatricians, midwives, public health nurses, GPs, Pharmacists and Dietitians routinely informing pregnant women and parents and carers of infants under 12 months of the benefits of vitamin D and the need to give their infant a vitamin D supplement.

Multivitamin products are not recommended for babies, and a number of Vitamin D only products that are suitable for infants are available for purchase in pharmacies and other locations across Ireland. A prescription is not required.

The HSE has set up a dedicated web page, www.hse.ie/go/vitaminD, which will answer the questions of parents and health professionals, and also outlines the suitable vitamin D products that are available in Ireland. An information leaflet for parents and factsheet for health professionals is also available.