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lack of iron
I did not have much of an understanding of lack of iron in children over 6 months and I'm now concerned that my lo is not getting enough. I breast feed and he has never had formula containing iron. He does have breakfast containing added iron but I dont think there is enough in his diet. I dont eat much meat but I do try to include it in his food where I can but its hard when he eats what I eat and I dont really want to cook too many different meals. Does anyone have any advise? Or can recommend vitamins to use?
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Hey chick any good kids multivitamin should contain iron just look at the back of the pack. Or maybe ask the chemist to recommend something? X
Are they different depending on age?
Yeah for your lo you will get a medicine type of vitamin, I think from 3 upwards you can give chewy vitamins. I used to use something called abidec but not sure if it has iron in it. I just read somewhere that babies get 50% iron from breast milk, maybe try giving lots of iron rich fruit n veg? Apricots, Raisins, spinach, leeks even apples and pears x
Thanks LH86
Just found this on the web...
IRON--Although the amount of iron in breast milk is very low (0.3 milligrams of iron per liter), the infant absorbs almost half. In contrast, while iron-fortified formulas contain 10 to 12 mg per liter, babies absorb only 4 percent, amounting to 0.4 mg per liter to 0.5 mg per liter. In either case, those amounts of iron are adequate for the first 4 to 6 months
Its something that I'm going to look into further but I think some sort of iron supplement is a good idea as my little one is now 13 1/2 months x
I'm sure if you ask a pharmacist they will b able to recommend something suitable x
i gave my little one abedec drops from 6 months old.
http://www.nhs.uk/medicine-guides/pages/MedicineOverview.aspx?medicine=Abidec Multivitamin drops
from 12 months, I wanted iron as we don't eat meat so I started giving him wellkid syrup.
below is the product detail from www.boots.com
Wellkid Baby & Infant liquid is a unique, carefully balanced combination, developed by Vitabiotics nutritional experts. No other supplement for babies and young children provides such a comprehensive combination of 14 vitamins and minerals plus flaxseed oil and malt extract.
Wellkid Baby Syrup includes:
With Swiss Alpine Malt extract, Wellkid Baby Syrup is a rich source of nutrients.
Wellkid Baby Syrup also has
Wellkid Baby Syrup is suitable for vegetarians
How to Use
How to use Wellkid Baby Syrup:
Babies aged 3 - 6 months:
2.5ml (half teaspoon) daily.
Infants aged 7 months - 5 years
5ml (1 teaspoonful) daily.
Thanks Harjeet
Thanks Jodie-Lou for the question and LH86 and Harjeet for the advice. Definitely something I need to look into.
I had started looking at multi-vitamins anyway, but hadn't got very far! The Baby syrup sounds like a good option.
Think a trip to the pharmacy is needed!
Don't forget that you can also give baby cereals which are fortified in iron ( I also think that some adult cereals are fortified with it too).
Your HV will be able to advise you on which supplements are recommended/safe for your little one at different ages/stages. I think if you are on a vegetarian diet then supplements are a must.
When I was pregnant with Annabel I was consistently anaemic (low iron), I added spinach to literally everything. I added it to eggs, into curries, hot pots, cottage pie and ate it raw on sandwiches or in salads. I think I must have started to look like popeye!! Ha Ha. - not actually sure it made any difference as I was anaemic until about 3 months after the birth, but who knows had I not ate spinach my iron may have been lower?!1