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Acceptance of two liquid vitamin D3 formulations among mothers with newborn infants: a randomized, single-blind trial

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Abstract

In Switzerland, children are prescribed 7.5–12.5 μg per day of vitamin D3 dissolved in alcohol, but many families do not adhere to the recommendation. The aim of the trial was to compare the acceptance of vitamin D3 dissolved in alcohol or in medium-chain triglycerides among mothers of Swiss newborn infants. The acceptance was tested in 42 healthy newborn infants (20 girls and 22 boys) aged between 2 and 7 days. Their neonatal body weight ranged between 2.225 and 4.150 kg, and the gestational age between 36 1/7 and 41 3/7 weeks. The blinded mothers rated the facial reaction of their children by pointing on a facial hedonic scale. Thirty eight of the 41 mothers, who brought the comparison to completion, assigned a better score to the oily preparation with no difference in the remaining three cases (P < 0.0001). The acceptance for the oily preparation was significantly better both among mothers whose babies were initially presented the alcoholic preparation and among mothers whose babies were initially presented the oily preparation. Furthermore, the acceptance for the oily preparation was better irrespective of gender of the infant or parity of the mother. In conclusion, from the perspective of mothers, Swiss newborn infants prefer the taste of the oily vitamin D3 preparation over the alcoholic preparation.

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Notes

  1. Multiply the number of micrograms by 40 to convert micrograms to international units.

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Financial disclosure

No financial support was provided to the study.

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Author notes

  1. Gregorio P. Milani

    Present address: Emergency Unit, Clinica Pediatrica De Marchi, Foundation IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Pediatrics, Bellinzona and Mendrisio and University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland

    Sebastiano A. G. Lava, Silvia Osmetti-Gianini, Gregorio P. Milani, Mattia Falesi & Mario G. Bianchetti

  2. Division of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Mendrisio, Switzerland

    Giorgio Caccia

  3. Pediatric Nephrology, University Children’s Hospital Bern and University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland

    Giacomo D. Simonetti

  4. San Giovanni Hospital, 6500, Bellinzona, Switzerland

    Mario G. Bianchetti

Authors
  1. Sebastiano A. G. Lava
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  2. Giorgio Caccia
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  3. Silvia Osmetti-Gianini
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  4. Giacomo D. Simonetti
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  5. Gregorio P. Milani
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  6. Mattia Falesi
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  7. Mario G. Bianchetti
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mario G. Bianchetti.

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Lava, S.A.G., Caccia, G., Osmetti-Gianini, S. et al. Acceptance of two liquid vitamin D3 formulations among mothers with newborn infants: a randomized, single-blind trial. Eur J Pediatr 170, 1559–1562 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-011-1477-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-011-1477-7

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