Yes, Lara has said what I was trying to say when I wrote, "many, many do not believe universal vit D supplementation is necessaryŠ" *Universal* is the key word there. I live in a high-altitude, very sunny region (300+ days of sunshine a year) that consistently has UV Index numbers toward the top of the scale. Most women in the area I serve are medium- to light-skinned. I believe that it is very do-able for mothers and babies here to achieve optimal vit D levels without the use of supplements. (And by 'optimal' I mean truly optimal, not the probably-too-low levels that have been considered normal for a long time.) I would much rather see mothers and babies evalulated individually and educated on the benefits of sunlight exposure if necessary rather than the AAP's blanket recommendation for vit D supplementation. Fortunately most of the doctors around here seem to be aware of this issue and I rarely hear of a mother told to give vit D drops to her exclusively breastfed baby. Margaret Longmont, CO > >The people I see who are arguing against >universal population hormone treatment aren't >saying "no one needs it, ever, under any >circumstances"; they're advocating for risk >assessment and appropriate management - which >may include maternal supplementation, infant >supplementation, and/or increased sunlight >exposure. > >Lara Hopkins *********************************************** Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html Mail all commands to [log in to unmask] To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail To start it again: set lactnet mail (or [log in to unmask]) To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet or ([log in to unmask]) To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]