Babies don't really need or require vitamin D drops but it's recommended to give the baby vitamin D drops to keep them healthy.
However many babies have been born and thrived just fine without using vitamin D drops.
But it's a good thing to do when your baby is born as the vitamin D from the vitamin D drops can keep them healthy and help them thrive much better.
Babies need vitamin D to absorb calcium and phosphorus.
Too little vitamin D can cause rickets, a softening and weakening of bones.
Since sun exposure an important source of vitamin D isn't recommended for babies, supplements are the best way to prevent vitamin D deficiency.
Begin giving your baby the vitamin D drops in the first week or two of life.
Then, at 4 months of age (sooner if a baby is born at less than about 5 1/2 pounds), make sure the drops have both vitamin D and iron.
Secondly, older children need their vitamin D, up to 600 IU daily.
Babies who don't get enough vitamin D are said to have “vitamin D deficiency”.
If the vitamin D levels are low enough, babies are at risk of rickets, a disease that affects the way bones grow and develop.
You can make sure your baby has enough vitamin D by giving them a daily supplement (a dose of drops every day).
Vitamin D and 25-OH-vitamin D are 10 to 20% of breastmilk levels and 1 to 2% of maternal blood levels, respectively. [8,15-17] Levels are 1.5 to 2 times higher in hindmilk than in foremilk.
Vitamin D deficiency in children is associated with objectively measured decreased sleep duration and poorer sleep efficiency.
Furthermore, vitamin D deficiency was associated with delayed bedtimes, suggesting that vitamin D and circadian rhythm could be related.