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I live in France, and we have been told to give our baby 3 droplets of a vitamin D supplement that amounts to 3x330 IU = 1000IU. The baby formula amounts (hopefully I did not mix up units) to roughly 400IU, so in total 1400IU. I've read on US websites that the daily needs for a baby of this age are 400IU of Vitamin D.

The baby does not have any special deficiency or nothing, and I have talked to the pediatrician: giving Vitamin D supplements to any baby seems to be the standard guideline in France (independently on bottle or breastfeeding).

Am I overlooking something (different units in US than in France, different type of measurement... don't know) or is the French guideline really by a factor > 3 higher than the US one? Is it harmful to give such a high dose? Where does this large difference in the guidelines stem from?

Thank you in advance.

Reference: The supplement leaflet makes reference to this governmental text from 1971: Prévention du rachitisme. Circulaires de la Direction générale de la Santé du 21 février 1963 et du 6 janvier1971(extraits)

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    Have a look at the paragraph following Table 2. ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-HealthProfessional
    – Carey Gregory ♦
    Dec 13, 2020 at 17:33
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    Hi Klaus. I don't know anything about Vitamin D in infants, but I do (think I) know a fair bit about it in adults. In adults, Vitamin D plays important roles (and more people are learning about them because of COVID-19), but because it is fat soluble, you can go toxic on it. The levels for toxicity can be measured in the serum (blood), but the units used by those tests do vary around the world. Some regions use nmol/L while others use ng/mL. Occasionally, you will even see different units. Naturally, the values for toxicity change depending on the units used. Continued...
    – RockPaperLz- Mask it or Casket
    Dec 13, 2020 at 18:15
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    ...continued. That said, I have no idea what appropriate intake is for an infant or what toxicity levels are for them. Good for you noticing that the formula has vitamin D in addition to the supplement drops. I think it would be worthwhile to ask a few medical doctors who work with infants what is suggested intake, and if serum levels need to be checked. Maybe an expert on those specific topics will respond here, but that's certainly not me! :)
    – RockPaperLz- Mask it or Casket
    Dec 13, 2020 at 18:19
  • "Such questions should be taken to your personal physician who can examine you and access your full medical records." I really don't understand the reason for closing my question. This has NOTHING to do with MY PERSONAL HEALTH ISSUE but is about French health authorities advice to give babies 3 times the daily vitamin D intake of what is considered normal in the US. Is this based on older research, on newer research? Is it reasonable, dangerous, etc.? Is there some special reason of why French babies need 3 times the amount of US babies? Is the US overly careful? Please reopen my post!
    – Klaus Niederkrüger
    Dec 22, 2020 at 10:11

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