Nutrient Deficiencies in Breast-Fed Infants

Abstract

Although human milk is commonly believed to be a complete and perfect food for infants, deficiencies of vitamin K, vitamin D and iron may develop in normal, full-term infants breast-fed by apparently healthy women consuming conventional diets. Other nutrient deficiencies may occur in breast-fed infants as a consequence of special conditions existing in the infant or the mother or both. The instructive case of congenital vitamin B₁₂ deficiency reported by Higginbottom et al. in this issue of the Journal raises the general question of dietary supplementation of breast-fed infants.Because human milk provides less vitamin K than infant formulas . . .