Is Rickets Making a Comeback?
Breast milk is the best food babies can get during the first year of life. Breast milk transfers antibodies from mother to child that protect against a long list of infectious diseases and, over time, breastfed babies are less likely to develop such chronic conditions as diabetes, high cholesterol, asthma, and allergies. However, in some cases breast milk doesn’t seem to give babies enough vitamin D, which is essential for absorption of calcium and for bone-building. If mothers are deficient in vitamin D – as many appear to be these days – their breast milk will be deficient, too, putting their babies at risk of rickets, a bone-softening disease. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recognized this problem in 2003 and recommended that all breastfed babies be given daily vitamin drops providing 200 international units of vitamin D – an amount that may be increased soon. Unfortunately, not all pediatricians prescribe the drops. Rickets can be treated – with vitamin D and calcium supp
