I think nature probably 'expects' us to spend a lot of time outside, in all seasons, all climates and all weathers, from infancy, and not necessarily wrapped up from head to toe, either. I think in far northern latitudes we find traditional diets include comparatively high levels of Vitamin D which bf mothers will pass on to their nurslings. Modern lifestyles have changed, and so nature's 'expectations' are somewhat thwarted....how on earth is a baby gonna get the sunlight he needs going from house to car to nursery care or supermarket and back again, with just his nose peeping out his clothing? Ditto his mother. In the UK, this issue is surrounded by confusion. Reading the literature it seems clear to me that here, where there are no massive extremes of climate, some bf babies over 6 months (whose intake of breastmilk and therefore Vitamin D *may* be lowering, as mothers introduce solids) who don't get the chance to be outside often enough, will benefit from supplements....which may be easier to introduce than a change of lifestyle. Official guidance is that all bf babies of 6 mths should be offered these, but because of poor training, it's often presented as breastfeeding not being enough....which is sort of true, because breastfeeding cannot be expected to make up for every 'gap' in modern-day behaviour. Give us a few more thousand generations and it might adapt, of course :) As a result of the poor marketing, some bf supporters and mothers get very irate at the idea of supplements, which should simply be offered alongside education and a good explanation, IMHO. Heather Welford Neil NCT bfc, tutor, UK *********************************************** To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest) To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet All commands go to [log in to unmask] The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html