Toot Mom recently saw a bao mom in the group talking about the problem of supplementing iron for the baby.
Everyone's views are more mixed: some mothers think that it is not a big deal, and it is better to wait for the baby to be older. Some mothers choose to give their babies black food, spinach and other food supplements.
Well...... In order to facilitate more mothers to understand, today's toot mother will talk to you about supplementing iron for the baby.
How important is iron to your baby?
There is a substance in our body that is responsible for transporting oxygen, hemoglobin, and iron is an important part of it. When iron is deficient, hemoglobin will not be able to transport oxygen in the lungs to various tissues of the body, thus affecting normal work.
Iron deficiency can cause irreversible damage to the nervous system.
Studies have shown that iron-deficient infants have adverse effects on emotional behavior that may contribute to the development of ADHD. In addition, children with iron deficiency, at the age of 10, memory test results are not ideal, which will affect the child's later learning.
Iron deficiency can also lead to iron deficiency anemia, which in severe cases manifests as fatigue, pallor, growth retardation, and frequent infections. It can be seen that iron is crucial to the growth and development of the baby.
Why are babies prone to iron deficiency?
Iron deficiency is the most common nutrient deficiency in children. Iron, as a trace element of the body, needs to be ingested from food in addition to the erythrocytes that die of aging.
For adults, only 5% of the iron requirement needs needed in food are met. Infants and young children grow and develop faster, need more iron to meet the needs, and the iron in food must reach 30%. However, their choice of food is relatively single, and it is difficult to consume sufficient amounts of iron-containing foods. Especially after 6 months, the iron stored in the body is almost exhausted, and the risk of iron deficiency will be higher if the supplementary food is not added in time.
In addition, because 80% of the iron stored in the baby's body comes from within 3 months of the third trimester of pregnancy, it is easy for premature babies or low birth weight infants to have insufficient iron reserves and are prone to iron deficiency.
How to prevent iron deficiency in your baby?
Babies are so prone to iron deficiency, then it is necessary to replenish iron in time. Iron supplementation methods in different years / months of age of the baby, there are also exquisite Oh!
0 to 4 months
Breastfeeding is encouraged without the need for additional supplementation
The appropriate intake of iron for babies aged 0-6 months is 0.3 mg/day. The average iron content in breast milk is 0.35 mg/L, while the absorption rate is higher, reaching 50%. In addition, the iron stored in the body during the fetal period is enough to meet the needs of the baby for 4-6 months, so the amount of iron at this stage is sufficient and there is no need for additional supplementation.
4 to 6 months
Iron supplementation is recommended for breastfed babies
In view of the 6 to 12 months of baby, the daily iron requirement reaches 10mg/day, but this amount is not increased at once, but gradually increased. In addition, at this time, the iron reserves in the baby's body have been almost used, and the iron content in breast milk has not increased. It can be seen that at this time, iron can no longer meet the needs of the body, and the risk of iron deficiency also increases.
Therefore, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that starting at 4 months, the baby should be supplemented with 1 mg/kg of iron, up to a maximum of 15 mg per day (for example, if the baby weighs 6 kg, then you need to supplement 6 mg of iron per day) until the diet is ingested enough iron.
6 to 12 months
Consume foods rich in iron and vitamin C
Starting at 6 months to add complementary foods, you should start with iron-rich foods, such as rice noodles and meat puree that are fortified with iron. In addition, it is also necessary to consume foods rich in vitamin C every day, such as orange fruits, strawberries, green vegetables, etc., so as to promote the absorption of iron.
*Formula feeding: Choose formula fortified with iron
Enough iron is added to the formula to meet your baby's growth needs, so there is no need to supplement with iron, but choose a formula fortified with iron (iron content of 10-12 mg/L). In addition, it is also necessary to avoid giving the baby any full milk, such as milk, goat milk, etc., which has a very low iron content, which is not conducive to the growth and development of the baby.
For mixed-feeding babies, starting at four months, if the daily amount of breast milk exceeds half of the daily milk intake without the addition of iron-rich foods, it is recommended to supplement with 1 mg/kg of iron per day.
*Premature infants (< 37 weeks' gestation): breastfeeding + iron supplementation
The risk of iron deficiency is increased due to the small total blood volume at birth of preterm infants, which results in insufficient iron reserves, increased losses due to intravenous therapy, and poor absorption of the gastrointestinal tract. Therefore, the AAP recommends that breastfed premature infants should be supplemented with 2 mg/kg of iron per day from 1 month of age after birth until breast milk is weaned and fed with iron-fortified formula or sufficient iron-rich foods are obtained. For formula-fed premature babies, the iron content in formula can reach such a standard, so there is no need for supplementation.
1 to 3 years old
Control milk intake and eat iron-rich foods
Children aged 1-3 years should not exceed 600ml of milk per day. The reason is that current research shows that drinking more than 700ml of milk per day increases the risk of iron deficiency in young children. In addition, at least 3 servings of iron-rich foods should be consumed every day, such as iron-fortified cereals, meats, etc.
Iron deficiency screening
Usually for screening for iron deficiency, we first think of the blood routine test, in fact, iron deficiency is divided into three periods: the period of reduced storage of iron, the period of iron deficiency of erythropoiesis, and the period of iron deficiency anemia.
It can be seen that iron deficiency anemia with reduced hemoglobin levels in the blood routine only accounts for the tip of the iceberg of iron deficiency. Therefore, it is currently believed that early dietary risk assessment is more meaningful than hemoglobin detection.
In the United States, it is recommended that in April, May, August, 24, 30, and 3 years of age, a dietary review is recommended for iron deficiency risk factors.
The main risk factors for iron deficiency are:
Premature or low birth weight infants
Mom was iron deficient during pregnancy
Infants using low-iron formulas, or non-formula formulas such as cow's milk and goat's milk before 12 months of age
Iron-rich foods were not added after 6 months
When your baby has these risk factors, it indicates a higher risk of iron deficiency, should be given higher attention, and then repeated screening.
Common laboratory tests
It is recommended that babies aged 9 to 12 months undergo laboratory tests for iron deficiency, which is usually done around 6 months in mainland China. A common laboratory test is a blood routine if the hemoglobin level is available
However, in order to determine that the anemia is due to iron deficiency, further tests for serum ferritin are done. If serum ferritin < 12 μg/L and other factors are excreted, iron deficiency anemia can be determined.
For babies with normal hemoglobin but at risk of iron deficiency, serum ferritin testing is recommended to help diagnose iron reserve deficiency. However, since ferritin is a reactant in the acute phase of infection, the decrease may be due to inflammation, so it is also necessary to exclude the decrease in serum ferritin caused by infection.
Sometimes, the mother is reluctant to let the baby suffer and does not want to do a blood routine examination, but in order to find iron deficiency anemia as soon as possible, the mother still recommends taking the baby to do a test, so as not to cause more serious consequences.
In addition, although the detection of trace elements has no practical value, blood lead has certain significance. If blood lead levels have not been done recently, it is also recommended. Because of excessive lead, it will affect the absorption of iron.
Iron deficiency, food supplement or medicine supplement?
Many mothers are worried about the side effects of the drug, even if the baby is diagnosed with anemia, they do not want to take the drug, but choose food supplements.
And these 3 kinds of legendary iron supplement food are actually not very reliable:
1, breast milk, milk
There's no doubt that breast milk is your baby's best food.
However, when the baby is 4 to 6 months old, it is necessary to pay attention to the addition of complementary foods, and the iron in breast milk is far from meeting the growth and development of the child.
Similarly, milk and regular milk powder (but excluding fortified iron formula) have a low iron content and are not as absorbed as breast milk. For babies who drink formula, it is more important to add complementary foods.
2. Eggs
The nutrition of eggs is indeed more comprehensive. For babies who are not allergic, it is a good food supplement option.
Although the iron content of egg yolks is not low, the high phosphorin in egg yolks will affect iron absorption... Using egg yolks to supplement iron for babies is not very effective.
3. Red dates, spinach
Red dates and spinach iron supplementation should be deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, but still look at the data:
Each 100 grams of dates contains an average of about 2.3 mg of iron
Each 100 grams of spinach contains an average of about 2.9 mg of iron
The average iron content per 100 grams of pork liver and lean meat is about 22.6 mg, which is almost ten times that of red dates and spinach
And in contrast, in fact, the iron in pork liver and lean meat is more easily absorbed by the human body!
Therefore, in general, a reasonable combination of meat and vegetarian is the best choice for iron supplementation:
Iron in animal foods is easier to absorb. Liver, beef, lean pork (pig, animal blood, etc. are the best options for iron supplementation, followed by fish and eggs.
Among plant foods, soybean iron content is the highest, followed by black fungus, kelp, etc., fresh green leafy vegetables, shiitake mushrooms, sesame and other iron is also relatively rich, malt, fruit also has a certain content of iron. Unfortunately, these irons are poorly absorbed.
Many fruits and vegetables contain vitamin C, which can promote the absorption of iron.
But what Toot Mom wants to remind everyone is:
The content of iron in food is very limited, and it is susceptible to many other factors, such as phytic acid in plants, which will reduce the absorption rate of iron, so as to achieve a good iron supplementation effect. In addition, the iron in these plant foods is non-heme iron, and the absorption rate itself is very low. The so-called dietary supplement iron supplement is not reliable.
However, iron deficiency is very unfavorable to the growth and development of the baby, so when the baby has iron deficiency anemia, The mother recommends following the doctor's instructions, using drug treatment, and after the hemoglobin returns to normal, it is necessary to continue to supplement for 2 months, so as to supplement the stored iron in the body.
Depending on the severity of iron deficiency anemia, iron supplements of 3 to 6 mg/kg are given. Usually, 3 mg/kg is taken once or twice a day with ferrous sulfate. Ferrous fumarate or ferrous gluconate and other iron agents can also be used, because the iron content will vary, to follow the doctor's instructions to take the dose.
Some mothers worry about adverse reactions in the gastrointestinal tract caused by iron, such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. According to studies, this dose of the drug rarely occurs gastrointestinal reactions. Liquid iron can cause teeth or gums to turn black, which is temporary and can be avoided or relieved by rinsing or brushing your teeth. In order to increase the absorption efficiency of the drug, it is recommended to take it at the same time as food or juice, but it is not recommended to take iron and milk together, so as not to affect the absorption of iron.
In addition, iron supplementation has been suggested that supplementation with iron may affect immune function, and according to current studies, there is no evidence that iron supplementation increases the risk of infection. Therefore, mom can rest assured.
Toot Mom said
Back to the status quo, many families are still in the stage of not doing blood routine examinations because of the pain of children's needles, not to mention giving children scientific iron supplementation. But in reality, iron deficiency may be more prevalent than calcium deficiency, but it is more difficult to detect. Today we talk about the facts and lists the data, with only one purpose, so that everyone can more scientifically and systematically understand the knowledge of iron deficiency and iron deficiency in babies.
Feeling rewarded, forward it out for more parents to see.
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