Keeping Tabs on Baby’s Iron

Keeping Tabs on Baby’s Iron

September 8th, 2010 by admin  |  No Comments

Babies are at a very high risk for iron deficiency anemia, a condition that results from a lack of iron in baby’s system. Most anemia is caused by a diet that is low in iron. While the best thing you can do to prevent iron deficiency anemia in your baby is to make sure there is enough in baby foods, being vigilant about anemia is a good idea too. Because iron-deficiency anemia can be hard to distinguish from other problems, you will probably need your pediatrician’s help to make sure your baby is getting enough iron.

Symptoms of Iron Deficiency Anemia

The most common symptoms of low iron are fatigue, dizziness, lack of appetite, paleness, and changes in heart rate. Most of these you are unlikely to notice in a baby, mainly because your baby can’t tell you what she is feeling, or because they require medical instruments and training to detect.

In the long term, iron deficiency can lead to behavior and learning difficulties, the severity of which depends on how long your child suffered from anemia and how serious the deficiency was. These long term effects, however, should be avoidable with vigilance and early detection of the problem.

Because the symptoms can be hard to notice and easy to confuse with other problems, your doctor is the best person to determine whether or not your baby is getting enough iron.

How Your Baby’s Doctor Diagnoses Low Iron

Most babies will have a simple blood test done between 9-12 months of age to check for hemoglobin levels in the blood. Because iron helps the body to create hemoglobin, low levels are a sign of iron deficiency. A CBC (complete blood count) test will also show the number and size of your baby’s red blood cells. If the count is low and the red blood cells are small and less pigmented, odds are good your baby isn’t getting enough iron.

There are other tests your baby’s doctor may perform, including checking iron levels in the blood directly, and checking your baby’s stool for signs of blood. In most cases however, a diagnosis won’t require extensive testing. The results of the blood tests should be enough for your doctor to recommend a therapy if necessary. This may involve both diet changes and iron supplements.

Preventing Anemia

The best way to prevent anemia is to make certain your baby’s diet contains enough iron. During the first year of life most babies will get the required amount of iron from breast milk or iron-fortified formula. After the first year, however, the risk may increase as babies no longer breast or bottle feed and switch to cow’s milk. Cow’s milk is known to block iron absorption in large quantities, so keep your baby’s consumption in check, not more than 24 ounces a day. Be sure to feed a diet full of iron rich foods such as meat and poultry, eggs, leafy green vegetables and legumes.

You can also give your baby a daily multivitamin supplement that includes iron. Serve it separately from milk to be sure it is absorbed fully. As long as you follow these preventative measures, your baby is unlikely to develop an iron deficiency. If you need more concrete assurance, however, you can request that your baby’s doctor perform the blood tests to check for iron deficiency anemia.

Why Your Baby Needs Iron

Why Your Baby Needs Iron

August 30th, 2010 by admin  |  No Comments

Iron is a vital mineral to life, for people of all ages. Babies, however, have a special need for iron as their bodies are growing and developing at a rapid pace. Many babies are not getting enough of this essential nutrient, and serious health problems can result.

What Iron Does

Iron helps the body to create hemoglobin, which is what keeps red blood cells healthy, and makes them red. It carries oxygen throughout the body and provides it to muscles and organs, all of which require oxygen to function properly. As babies are growing quickly, their bodies require iron to create new red blood cells.

Dangers of Iron Deficiency

Babies get iron from their mother in the womb, but after birth it must be included in baby food diet for healthy weight gain and development. Babies who do not get enough iron can develop iron-deficiency anemia, a condition which can cause numerous problems including poor weight gain, fatigue, dizziness, rapid heart rate and decreased appetite.

Iron deficiency symptoms can be slow to appear, as the body’s stores of iron are depleted over time. If they are not replaced, the symptoms will start to manifest. Most cases of anemia are caught prior to symptoms developing thanks to routine testing for hemoglobin levels in babies between 9-12 months of age. Rare serious cases of iron-deficiency anemia do occur, however, resulting in hospitalization.

What Leads to Iron Deficiency

In most cases, a lack of enough iron in the diet is the reason for a baby or toddler to develop anemia. There are other potential causes as well, however.

When your baby makes the switch to cow’s milk at around a year old, the risk of anemia from low iron increases due to two factors. First, your baby is no longer receiving the extra iron found in breast milk or iron-fortified formula. Second, too much milk can actually block iron absorption. This is a big reason why babies under a year old are not advised to drink cow’s milk. Too much milk can damage the lining of the stomach and result in internal bleeding that can further deplete iron supplies. To prevent this cause of iron deficiency, keep your baby’s milk intake to no more than 24 ounces a day. If your baby is taking an iron supplement or multivitamin with iron, serve it separately from milk.

Periods of rapid growth can also deplete iron stores, as the body is using them up at a quicker pace than normal. If you see signs of a growth spurt in your baby, try to add extra iron either in the form of supplements or food in order to replace the stores that are being used up.

If your baby was premature or had a low birth weight, the risk of iron deficiency anemia is increased. Because larger babies who spent longer periods in the womb were able to absorb and store more iron, their supply will last longer and not need to be replenished quite so quickly. A premature or low birth weight baby will need extra help to build up iron stores and avoid anemia.

If you suspect iron deficiency anemia in your baby, talk to your baby’s doctor. Once the diagnosis has been confirmed, your pediatrician will be able to guide you in the right steps to take in order to bring iron levels back up.

Early Signs of Pregnancy

Early Signs of Pregnancy

March 11th, 2010 by admin  |  No Comments

You have been trying for weeks or maybe months. Every little thing that feels different in your body makes you wonder. You are tracking every date of every little change and every event that takes place. You are ready and you are waiting, but how will you really know when you are pregnant? What are the signs?

Well, rest assured that there are definite signs that you are pregnant. Usually, the first sign that tips a woman off is when she misses her menstruation. This is a dead giveaway that there is now a new life growing inside your body. However, when you look back to the week or two prior to your late menstruation, you might, on hindsight, realize that there were other telltale signs of your pregnancy.

Fatigue is one of the early signs of pregnancy. Even before you miss your menstruation or have your pregnancy confirmed by a test, your body is already working very hard to grow that baby. Everything is changing and changing quickly and your body is striving to keep up with those changes. This is likely to cause fatigue in the first few weeks of your pregnancy, beginning soon after conception.

Another noticeable sign of early pregnancy is the shift in hormones. You just might feel moodier than usual. Early in pregnancy it is also common to feel nauseous. While this generally doesn’t come on until about the eighth week for many women, it is not uncommon for it to happen earlier. Morning sickness or nausea due to certain smells and foods can be a sure sign something is up.

One of the most noticeable signs of early pregnancy is breast tenderness. Women generally tend to experience changes in their breasts soon after conception. After all, the breasts are a crucial part of having a baby and the body begins immediately to prepare the breasts to produce milk.

In addition to the above-listed signs of early pregnancy there are a few others that commonly occur. These include food cravings or aversions, the need to urinate more frequently, dizziness or fainting, heartburn or constipation, higher body temperature, lower back pain, bloating, and implantation bleeding (spotting when the embryo implants on the wall of the uterus).

It is important to know that not every woman will experience all of these symptoms or experience them to the same degree as another woman. Some women will feel ultra fatigued, but notice no other signs. Some women will feel nothing at all until they miss their menstruation. One woman might not even experience the same signs from one pregnancy to the next. This means that, while the above early signs of pregnancy are common, you have to be aware of your own body and how it feels.

It can also be frustrating that these symptoms are very similar to those experienced each month when you are due to menstruate. This means that you cannot be sure if you are pregnant until you take a pregnancy test. If you are trying to become pregnant, then this can feel like the most frustrating thing in the world. The best thing to do is stay calm, try to remain stress-free, and wait until you can confirm your pregnancy with a test. Once you know for certain that you are pregnant you can celebrate the new life growing inside you.