Vitamin D deficiency Risk Factors

The following factors could put your child – or yourself – at risk for a Vitamin D defficiency.

• If you live in a area close to the polars with long, cloudy winters.
• If your weather is mostly cloudy and overcast with little sun.
• If the pollution in your area is of such a degree that very little sun gets through. This is often the case in big cities with high buildings which also tend to block out the sun,
• If your baby is in a day-care facility which keeps him indoors for most of the day,
• If your baby spends a lot of time behind windows – glass does not let UV-rays through which means the body cannot benefit from the sunlight.
• Do you put sunblock on your child every day, all over his body?  Sunscreen blocks out the UV-rays which means the body cannot manufacture Vit D.
• If your child is milk or lactose intolerant or allergic, he will not benefit from this fortified source of Vitamin D.
• Does your child have a very dark skin? Due to their pigmentation,  African-American skins do not manufacture Vit D as easily as Caucasian skins do.
• Does your religion or culture require you to wear robes such as burkas? This could starve your body from sunlight and Vitamin D; which in turn could be very harmful to the development of your unborn baby.
• Prolonged exclusive breast-feeding without supplementing Vitamin D. This is mostly the case when a child does not get any exposure to the sun himself. This is normally not a issue if you get outdoors into the sun a lot.
• Children who suffer from a liver disease, Chrohn’s disease, Cystic Fibrosis or a kidney disease often struggle with a Vitamin D deficiency.

Dorothy Day

Hello, I’m Dorothy. I love writing and researching articles. Reading books about baby health, care and pregnancy are my favorite. I will be sharing delicious and healthy information on food and baby food during pregnancy.