Dear Lactnetters:
  As I was online one day "talking" to other mothers of breastfeeding
infants, one mom kept referring to the AAP recommendation that breastfed
babies get vitamin and iron supplements at four months old.  This encouraged
me to actually go to the AAP's website <http://www.pediatrics.org> and search
myself.  The result?  There is no such AAP recommendation about vitamins and
iron in the breastfed baby.  There is something about flouride supplements in
babies over six months old whose drinking water is not flouridated, but no
policy statement about vitamins.
  As I said to the mom online, some pediatricians may say that bfd babies
need supplemental vitamin/iron, but the AAP doesn't say it.  The current
lactation literature supports the idea that the healthy, full-term baby does
not need supplemental vitamins/iron, and will receive all that he needs from
dietary sources when he is on a mixed diet.
  Lisa Jones, LLLL in Wellington Florida, USA