Vitamins K and D

Immediately after birth your baby will be given 1 mg of vitamin K. This will help your baby’s blood clot. This shot will be sufficient for the first week. Starting on the 8^th day up until three months after birth, you need to give your baby 150 micrograms of vitamin K each day. Vitamin K helps prevent haemorrhages in your baby’s brain. The first three months after birth, your baby cannot produce enough vitamin K himself. If you are bottle feeding your baby, and he is drinking 500 ml or more a day, there’s no need to give him extra vitamin K.

Vitamin D

From the 8^th day after the birth until he is four years old, your baby needs 10 micrograms of vitamin D each day. Vitamin D helps absorb calcium from the baby’s food into his blood and bones. Our bodies produce vitamin D when the skin is exposed to sunlight. But food can also be a source of vitamin D. You can find it for instance in spreads, margarine, butter, and oil. Vitamin D is added to almost all of these products by the manufacturer. Meat, eggs, cheese, and fatty fish are also sources of vitamin D. A small child does not produce enough vitamin D himself, which is why it is necessary to give him extra vitamin D for strong bones and teeth. If your baby is exclusively bottle-fed, he still needs extra vitamin D.