<<snip>>
iron requirements in the second half of gestation cannot be fulfilled
solely through dietary iron
<<snip>>

<<snip>>
Healthy Pregnant Women's Iron Intake Advice Too High
<<snip>>

Ann Hematol. 2006 Jun 9; [Epub ahead of print] Related Articles, Links

Iron prophylaxis in pregnancy-general or individual and in which dose?

Milman N.

Department of Medicine B 2142, University of Copenhagen,
Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, 2100, Denmark, milman@rh.dk.

Iron is mandatory for normal fetal development, including the brain.
Iron deficiency may have deleterious effects for intelligence and
behavioral development. It is important to prevent iron deficiency in
the fetus by preventing iron deficiency in the pregnant woman. Iron
deficiency anemia during pregnancy is a risk factor for preterm
delivery and low birth weight. In the Western countries there is no
consensus on iron prophylaxis to pregnant women. An adequate iron
balance during pregnancy implies body iron reserves of >/=500 mg at
conception. The physiologic iron requirements in the second half of
gestation cannot be fulfilled solely through dietary iron. Iron
supplements during gestation consistently increase serum ferritin and
hemoglobin and reduce the prevalence of iron deficiency anemia. Iron
has a negative influence on absorption of other divalent metals and
increases oxidative stress in pregnancy, for which reason minimum
effective iron dose should be advised. From a physiologic point of
view, individual iron prophylaxis according to serum ferritin
concentration should be preferred to general prophylaxis. Suggested
guidelines are (1) ferritin >70 mug/l: no iron supplements; (2)
ferritin 30-70 mug/l: 40 mg ferrous iron daily; and (3) ferritin <30
mug/l: 80-100 mg ferrous iron daily. In controlled studies, there are
no documented side effects of iron supplements below 100 mg/day. Iron
supplements should be taken at bedtime or between meals to ensure
optimum absorption.

PMID: 16763841 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now I wonder .. how .. these women .. ever .. carried to term ..

Not getting enough iron on one hand and on the other hand having their
children TARGETED .. by .. the SAME .. braindeadfkgmorons ..

Healthy Pregnant Women's Iron Intake Advice Too High

Main Category: Pregnancy News
Article Date: 01 Jun 2006 - 2:00am (PDT)

A new study conducted by researchers at Children's Hospital Oakland
Research Institute (CHORI), in close collaboration with scientists at
the National Institute of Perinatology in Mexico, is the first to show
that the current iron supplement recommendation for pregnant women who
are not anemic is too high and could lead to birth complications for
infants such as premature birth and low birth weight. This new research

conflicts with recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO)

and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). It is hoped that the results

of this study will lead to new recommendations from both organizations.

The study, featured in the May issue of Archives of Medical Research,
suggests that pregnant women who are not anemic should take iron
supplements weekly rather than daily. Women who are anemic have low
levels of healthy red blood cells and need higher doses of iron
supplementation. The study shows that pregnant women who are not anemic

and follow the recommended daily dosage can suffer from iron overload
and are more likely to experience birth complications.

Iron deficiency is common among women of childbearing age.
Consequently, doctors have ordered daily supplements of 60 to 120 mg of

iron to prevent or correct anemia and iron deficiency during pregnancy.

"What happens is that excess iron in pregnancy can drive the hemoglobin

levels above desirable levels, so that by the end of the second
trimester of pregnancy, 27 percent of the non-anemic women in our study

had hemoglobin levels that were undesirably high," said Fernando
Viteri, MD, Scientist at Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute

(CHORI). "In these women, the risk of delivering premature babies or
newborns with low birth weight quadrupled."

In contrast, only 7 percent of the women on weekly supplements
developed high hemoglobin levels. The reason for the weekly dose - and
in far smaller amounts - is biological and corresponds with the
turnover of the intestinal lining, which renews itself every five to
six days. The fresh cells are programmed to absorb iron according to
the person's iron reserves and needs. The cells absorb more if reserves

are depleted and less if they are adequate. Dr. Viteri's research
concludes that iron supplementation is still beneficial, but must be
regulated based on whether a woman is anemic.

About Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland

Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland is a designated Level I
pediatric trauma center and the largest pediatric critical care
facility in the region. The hospital has 181 licensed beds and 166
hospital-based physicians in 31 specialties, more than two thousand
five hundred employees, and an operating budget of $287 million. The
hospital's research institute has an annual budget of $41 million with
more than 300 basic and clinic investigators. Children's Hospital
Oakland Research Institute (CHORI) has made significant progress in
areas including pediatric obesity, cancers, sickle cell disease,
AIDS/HIV, hemophilia and cystic fibrosis.

Diana Yee
d...@mail.cho.org
Children's Hospital & Research Center at Oakland
http://www.childrenshospitaloakland.org

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