The mother does not need the prenatal vitamins while breastfeeding
because if she has a wholesome balanced diet, she gets everything she
needs.  Prenatal vitamins are for the prenatal period, and there are
various public health reasons for recommending them.  Public health
reasons mean that in some cases we treat everyone in order to treat
everyone at risk even if "everyone at risk" means 5% (or in the case
of folic acid and spina bifida, even less) of the population.

"Everyone" says to continue them as along as breastfeeding continues,
I presume, because "everyone" knows nothing about breastfeeding, and
does not trust nature.

Please feel free to "doubt my wisdom/knowledge".  If we don't question
everything, we will get stuck in ruts.

Jack Newman, MD, FRCPC