Should I Give My Seven Month Old an Iron Supplement?

I find it interesting that some moms are saying don't give it - I will read their links.

However, in terms of my personal experience:

My ped recommended Tri-Vi-Sol with Iron, from a couple of months old. She said to go ahead and give the one with iron even then, because he'd be used to the taste from the get go.

He was exclusively BF till 6 months, then intro'd solids, and we're still BF'ing at 15 months.

He's a very healthy boy as far as I can tell :).

N.

To test for anemia they only need to do a simple finger stick if you are concerned and don't want to give it then ask for the test. I don't think a daily supplement will cause toxic levels. Iron over doses happen when small kids down a bunch of vitamins thinking they are candy or some other type of accident not from giving a daily vitamin.

Cereals are Iron Fortified, Green Leafy Vegetables have lots of Iron and Meat haa Iron in it. If she is eating plenty of these food then she is fine. I breastfed all 3 of my kids and did not suppliment just made sure they eat health and a variety of foods. They never had any issues with any of their blood labs

I nursed my kids to about a year, and none of them had any supplements until they were around 2 or 3 and could have the Flintstones vitamins, and they still only get those occasionally. Our doctor doesn't believe they need supplements as long as they eat well. Her cereal has iron, and if she starts on Cheerios, crackers, etc, they're all fortified too. I agree with waiting for the 9 month checkup and the iron tests. She's probably perfectly healthy. I really don't think any child with a good diet needs any kind of supplements. I especially don't think you should give them to her if you're uncomfortable with it. Hope this helps.

My son is breastfed as well and we didn't start the vitamin drops until around the 8 month mark. My main concern was vitamin D since the breast milk content is very minimal. His pediatrician seemed to be not too concerned about it around the 6-7 month mark but he definitely wanted my son getting his vitamin drops regularly when he turned 9 months.
They do get some iron from the breast milk, cereal, fruits and veggies but if you give him the recommended amount of the vitamin/iron drops there shouldn't be any overdose issues. We started with the drops every other day for the first week or so before moving to daily drops. My son is almost 10 months now and he eats cereal, rice, yogurt, fruits, veggies etc...

i did not. the iron in breast milk cant be used by bacteria to reproduce but the iron in supplements can. plus that iron interferes with the absorption if the natural iron in breastmilk. have them check her levels if you are concerned. i also made sure she ate a lot of dark meat chicken i coked in a crock pot so it was super tender. that is why other countries start their kids on meat as a first food instead of nutrition less cereal that they have to add fake vitamins to

I would suggest not doing one now but when she goes back for her 9 month check up she should have a blood test to check for anemia anyway and then decide at that time. If anything try uping your iron intake with iron rich foods.

i gave my daughter iron drops at 1 year old...i wouldn't go any younger than that.

A.---Please don't supplement with iron. It is very dangerous to do so. If she is eating a well balanced diet, then she has no need for it. In fact, supplemental vitamins can even be a problem in the body, throwing a very careful balance of nutrients out of whack. Too much of any one will actually cause them to be free radicals and damage otherwise healthy cells. Here is an article to start with. If you cannot access it, let me know and I can try another way to get it to you.
http://www.healthy.net/scr/Column.aspx?Id=68. The following is the first paragraph: Iron is unique among essential minerals, because there is no mechanism for its excretion once absorbed into the body. Whatever iron is absorbed must either be used or stored and excessive storage of iron in the body promotes the generation of free radicals. Excess dietary iron has been implicated by some scientists as a cause of cancer and heart disease. It also increases the risk of bacterial infection.

Here is a link to an interview with Dr. David Katz of Yale. http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/36567808/ns/today-today_hea...
If you would like information on the whole food based supplement that he talks about, let me know. I have a number of resources to share, one of them being a list of plant based foods that are good sources of iron. With those, and again, a varied, well-balance diet, she'll have more than enough of every nutrient. With whole foods, if you consume more of a nutrient than what the body needs, there is a corresponding nutrient that will help escort the excess out of the body safely. It's a fascinating concept that I learned from a well-respected Naturopath.

As I said, if you are curious about any of the suggestions I've made or simply want to know more about how to optimize your family's diet and health, I would be honored to help. Hope this helps. Be well, D.

I must add that sometimes doctors don't know what they don't know. They usually give advice based on what was taught to them by manufacturers and drug reps. Even in medical school, they are taught by these same entities that give generous amounts of money to fund the schools. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that you shouldn't listen to your Dr. But do know that it may not be the best advice for your family, depending on your health goals. If you ask why he recommend the vitamin drops, he'll likely tell you that's just what they do, based on what the pediatric society has determined, again, with much input from manufacturers. Do your due diligence, look at all sides of an issue/recommendation and then decide what you want to do.

If the doctor recommended it, then he will know about iron toxicity. If you don't trust the doc, get a second opinion. I did do iron with my last baby, but I don't remember how old he was when he was on it. God that stuff smelled/tasted nasty!

I would first test her iron levels to see if she has an iron deficiency. I was breast feeding my girl at 7 months, starting her on solids, and her iron level was in the normal range. I was also making sure she was getting supplemental iron in her food. I did this by getting rice cereal with iron (like the earth's best cereal) in the mornings. Besides that, you'd be surprised at how efficient a baby's body at absorbing iron from breast milk. Given, a baby's iron reserves go down after six months, but she is still getting iron from breast milk. Again, just in case, I did also supplement with her baby cereal. (I've read that supplemental iron interferes with the absorption of iron from breast milk - but her iron levels were good so I continued with the cereal.)

Both of our breastfed boys were anemic around that age...diagnosed by blood work. I personally would NEVER supplement without an actual diagnosis. Once our boys were up to level (determined again by blood test) there is no reason to supplement since they eat a healthy diet. Keep in mind that many vitamins should be researched to verify their content since many do not have the amounts listed on the bottle. We use Consumer Lab reports to verify our vitamins....and still do not supplement the boys. Good luck.

Sorry, I have to disagree with most responses! Any baby that is exclusively breast fed should be given vitamin supplements. That being said, since your baby is now on solid food, she is getting some vitamins from that. I would just talk more with your doctor about it. I know so many people who had to give their babies vitamins, though I'm not sure they had to continue after solid food was introduced. Good luck and I would put some trust in your doctor.

I would wait. My ped did blood work at 9 months to check for anemia. If you are concerned ask to have orders so yo can go to the lab. Is there a reason why you think your baby needs extra iron? I think they get most of it from food.

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We can not answer this because we have not seen your daughters blood work and do not know her iron count. This needs to be discussed with her Ped.