A lot of people here in the Philippines are shocked that I don’t give Andrea vitamins. Multi-vitamins and Vitamin C supplements (think Ceelin) have become so ingrained into the Philippine culture that a lot of mothers cannot even fathom not giving vitamins to their kids.
A question posted in one of the comments by MM prompted this post. I’ve been asked this before and I thought writing a post as opposed to just replying to the comment would be better.
Here are my reasons:
1. Vitamins are supplements and are supposed to be given when you think your child is not given enough nutrients.
2. It’s only in the Philippines where vitamins are prescribed for ALL babies regardless of food intake.
3. For infants, the nutrients they get from their milk should be more than enough.
4. Andrea’s food intake is very very consistent regardless of her health. She could have colds or cough but she would still consume the same amount of milk. No need for any supplement to help with her nutrition or her appetite.
5. Andrea’s diet is still relatively healthy. She doesn’t eat fast food or any junk. She doesn’t even eat sweets like cakes, candies, chocolate.
6. I believe in keeping everything Andrea eats or ingests as natural as possible. I know that vitamins are healthy but (doctor Marj correct me if I’m wrong) I seem to remember reading that this is still processed by her liver and I don’t want to put unnecessary stress on any of her organs.
Please don’t assume that I’m telling everyone to stop giving vitamins to their babies, I don’t want to be held accountable for your baby’s health. =) I consulted two pedias and read oodles of resources before making this decision. I also had to make that commitment of making sure that Andrea’s diet is very healthy and complete with veggies, calcium, iron and protein.
I have an agreement with my pedia that if ever Andrea’s appetite changes or if Andrea starts showing preference for certain kinds of food and starts ignoring others then we’ll give her vitamins, meanwhile…she’s vitamin free.
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