Iron supplements: Necessary for four month old?
Are iron supplements needed for four-month-old babies that are breastfed?
Question:Debbi Donovan
Debbi Donovan is a Board Certified Lactation Consultant, as well as a retired La Leche League Leader. For more than a decade, Debbi... Read more
A full-term healthy baby is born with iron stores, that along with the iron received through his mother's milk, will see him well into the second half of his first year of life without supplementation.
Iron deficiency is rarely seen in breastfed babies during the first six months of life. Iron is present in your milk. Although human milk does not contain large amounts of iron, it is very well absorbed. Approximately 50 percent of the iron in mother's milk is absorbed, compared to only a 7 percent absorption from formula, and a 4 percent absorption from infant cereals (Dallman 1986).
Since a full-term baby's iron stores begin to diminish around six months of age, solid foods can help to meet your baby's increased need for iron and protein at that time. Solids can then be gradually added to the baby's diet, though breastmilk should still remain the priority throughout the second half of your baby's first year of life.
If you or your baby's Health Care Provider are concerned about your baby's iron (hemoglobin) levels, request a simple blood test (heel prick) to put your mind at ease. Normal levels for a six month old range from between 10.5 and 14 gm/dl, with the average being 12. (Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics, Behrman, Kliegman and Arvin, 1996). Best wishes.
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