Re-visiting Iron Deficiency in Babies

Check out this link to an article describing the benefits of iron supplementation for babies who are born early and/or smaller for their age (under 5 1/2 pounds).  We have known for some time that babies do download quite a bit of their iron in the last weeks of a mother’s pregnancy and now we are looking at identifying and supplementing these babies differently.  

However, this can also stimulate a discussion with your care provider on how you can provide iron for a child through a breastfeeding mom’s diet and an older infant’s own diet of iron-rich foods.  Meaning: it doesn’t all have to come from supplementation.