HSE: Extra vitamin D vital for babies’ bones

PARENTS who ignore HSE calls to ensure their babies are given a daily vitamin D supplement are putting their children at risk of developing serious, debilitating bone deformities, it has been claimed.

Ireland’s chief specialist in public health nutrition, Dr Mary Flynn, has warned parents must start ensuring their offspring receive the daily dose to support growing bones — regardless of whether their babies are being breast-fed or not.

In a detailed statement sent out by the HSE, the Department of Health and the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI), Dr Flynn said all children under the age of 12 months, both breast-fed and formula-fed, should be given a 5 microgram supplement of vitamin D.

This new national policy, the expert explained, was needed to prevent the softening of bones and bone deformities — a condition known as rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults.

Vitamin D is made in the body from certain foods, but is primarily received when ultra-violet rays from sunlight hit a person’s skin.

However, due to Ireland’s geographical location, the lack of sunlight during the later part of autumn and winter means our population is more likely to develop the debilitating conditions, caused by a lack of the vitamin.

“The case of rickets that we have seen are likely to be the tip of the iceberg, and indicate that there is a wider, undetected level of vitamin D deficiency in our population,” Dr Flynn explained.

“There is growing evidence that this can also increase the risk of conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and diabetes,” she added.

While rickets was considered to be a major problem among Irish children up to the 1960s, it was widely believed to have been resolved due to better nutrition among the general population.

However, in recent years there has been an increase in cases.

Vitamin D supplement policies are the norm in countries with the same latitude as Ireland such as Britain, Canada and Scandinavia.

As a result of the policy in Ireland, HSE staff such as paediatricians, public health nurses, mid-wives, GPs, pharmacists and dieticians will be asked to routinely inform pregnant women and parents and carers of the advice.

A dedicated web-page providing full details on the health benefits of vitamin D and the science behind the move has also been established.

* www.hse.ie/go/vitaminD or 1850-24-1850.