For a few years, it has been recommended in Spain to supplement babies with vitamin D, when deficiencies are observed in many children despite the usual recommendation of make a lot of life abroad. The supplement is nothing more than a small dose of vitamin D that prevents deficiency in all children, because those who lack can do very well and those who do not lack do not pose any problem.
Now, there are people, even professionals, who believe that vitamin D can prematurely close the baby's fontanel, and many parents are advised to stop giving the supplement in fear of premature welding of the bones of the baby. skull (craniosynostosis). And this is what we are talking about today: Have you been told not to give him vitamin D because the fontanel is closing?
What is the baby's fontanel and when does it close?
Before going to the heart of the matter I briefly tell you what is the baby's fontanelle, or rather, the fontanelles (because they are born with two). The fontanelles are the previous one, which is the one we all know, because it is the largest and the one that takes the longest to close, and the later one, smaller and closes immediately.
The previous one, the one at the top of the baby's head, is usually closed between 9 and 18 months, although it is usual that up to 24 months no referral to the specialist is made for this reason. The subsequent one closes very soon, towards the first or second month.
The point is that the babies' head is formed by six bones that join each other by a tissue called suture, very resistant, which allows the bones to grow without welding to each other, but leaving holes that can be felt from the outside, and one of them, the most obvious, is the fontanel.
In Babies and more It is recommended to give a vitamin D supplement to all babiesVitamin D and bones
Well, vitamin D is linked to the formation and growth of bones, so that babies who have severe deficiencies of this vitamin can suffer what we know as rickets (bones become weak and soft), and may even have problems in the formation of teeth, so that the risk of caries is greater.
Without going so far, babies with a mild deficiency may have a slightly slower bone formation than those with higher levels, so that the closure of the fontanelles is lengthened. That is why in the past many pediatricians, when they saw that a child was already "older" (approaching two years) and had a very open fontanelle, gave vitamin D supplement.
"You have seen the fontanel very closed because of vitamin D"
This suggests that the supplement will close the fontanelle in any case, and that if a baby of a few months has it very closed, it is the fault of the supplement.
Then they tell parents not to think about giving the baby more vitamin D, without being clear if he may need it or not. However, this makes no sense, because if it were true the recommendation should be: "Do not give him more vitamin D, give him little milk, fish and eggs and limit the baby's exposure to the sun." Y nobody says all that.
The vitamin D supplement helps children who have deficiencies, those who have deficits, and whose fontanelle closes slowly precisely because they have a deficiency. By supplementing and restoring optimal levels, the fontanel closes faster.
But if the child is not lacking in vitamin D, the supplement will not do anything because it is simply equivalent to being in the sun for a while or increasing the intake of vitamin D with foods rich in it. For that very reason, babies without deficiencies do not accelerate the closure of the fontanel and, consequently, it makes no sense to withdraw it for this reason.
In Babies and more Vitamin D deficiency in infants and childrenAnd if it is removed equally?
Well, you know, make life away from home and that the baby has exposure to daylight, the more the better (but without burning). Now summer is coming and it is easier for there to be no shortcomings, but it is also easier for burns to occur, so be careful. When autumn and winter arrive, it will be easier for the exposure to be less and, easier for a possible lack.
Taking into account that in addition to affecting ossification, vitamin D is related to language development and with the risk of suffering heart diseases Y respiratory diseases -such as bronchiolitis-, it may be interesting to make sure with the supplement, at least at times when we leave home less.
This will not affect the fontanelles, which will close when they have to close: millennia ago humans lived abroad all day, also breastfed (breast milk of women with correct levels of vitamin D) and those who were near the rivers they ate a lot of fish (rich in vitamin D) ... with such a quantity of vitamin D all the babies would have closed the fontanelles very quickly and would not have developed correctly, without the possibility of reaching adults. So if the theory is true that the more vitamin D more closed fontanelles, we would have extinguished.
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