Table 2.

Micronutrient requirements in lactating women.

	Recommendations	Justifications for Breastfeeding
Calcium	1000 mg/day	Maintenance and production of breast milk
Magnesium	390 mg/day	Muscle relaxant Prevention of constipation
Zinc	19 mg/day	Participation in postpartum healing
Vitamin C	130 mg/day	Stimulation of immune functions
Vitamin D	10 µg/day = 400 IU a/day	Important contribution to obtain good quality milk
Vitamin A	10,000 IU/day or max 25,000 IU/week or unique intake 200,000 IU	Only in deficient populations, as soon as possible after childbirth, but not more than 8 weeks afterwards
Iron	60 mg/day	Prevention of maternal anemia For 3 months after postpartum
Vitamin B9	400 µg/day
Omega–3	100 mg/day of DHA b during the 1st year of the newborn’s life	Newborn brain development

^a IU: international units; ^b DHA: docosahexaenoic acid.