During pregnancy,
the baby absorbs iron from the mother and this sustains them for the first six to eight months after they are born.
Babies absorb iron more readily from mother's milk than from artificial milk (60 % compared with only 4 %).
Plus
babies absorb iron more easily from meat than from iron - fortified cereals, another common first food.
Iron - fortified infant cereal has been a traditional first food, but the American Academy of Pediatrics now recommends pureed meat instead, because
babies absorb the iron in meat more easily.
Proteins found in mother's milk help
your baby absorb iron into his or her blood.
Not exact matches
While a
baby will only
absorb around 5 to 10 percent of the
iron in formula, she will
absorb 50 to 75 percent of the
iron in mother's milk.
Infant cereals do contain a lot of
iron, but most of it is not
absorbed, and this amount of
iron seems to cause constipation in some
babies.
The
iron in breastmilk is very well utilized by the
baby (about 50 % is
absorbed), while being unavailable to bacteria, and the breastfed full term
baby does not need any additional
iron before about 6 months of age.
Anemia is uncommon in the breastfed
baby due to the following reasons: 1) a healthy, full - term infant has ample
iron stores at birth to last him at least for the first six months of life, 2) although the amount of
iron in breastmilk is small, it is readily
absorbed at a rate of 49 % compared to 4 % of the
iron in formula.
Infant cereal has
iron, but it is poorly
absorbed and may cause the
baby to be constipated.
The
baby will
absorb 100 % of the
iron from your breastmilk.
The
iron in formula is less available and harder to
absorb than the
iron in your milk, and it may cause undesirable changes in your
baby's gut bacteria (Balmer & Wharton, 1989; Mevissen - Verhage et al., 1985).
The
iron in breastmilk is very well utilised by the
baby (about 50 % is
absorbed), while being unavailable to bacteria, and the breastfed full term
baby does not need any additional
iron before about 6 months of age.
It was once thought that
babies being breastfed needed
iron supplements because human milk is low in
iron, but it's been discovered that the
iron in breast milk is very well
absorbed.
So even though formula may have more
iron, for example, the
baby absorbs more
iron from breast milk than from the formula.
Meat contains easily
absorbed sources of
iron and zinc that your
baby needs by the time he's 4 to 6 months old.
By some reports, the
iron in spirulina is 60 % better
absorbed than supplemental
iron (ferrous sulfate), which is commonly found in
baby formula.
Iron - laden foods such as fish, meat and poultry are also excellent to use in place of iron - fortified baby cereal as they contain heme iron which is more efficiently absorbed by the b
Iron - laden foods such as fish, meat and poultry are also excellent to use in place of
iron - fortified baby cereal as they contain heme iron which is more efficiently absorbed by the b
iron - fortified
baby cereal as they contain heme
iron which is more efficiently absorbed by the b
iron which is more efficiently
absorbed by the body.
The
iron in breast milk is more easily
absorbed than
iron in formula so a breastfed
baby will actually get more
iron than a formula fed
baby.
The original
iron stores of a full - term healthy
baby, combined with the better -
absorbed iron in breastmilk, are usually enough to keep
baby's hemoglobin levels within the normal range the first six months.
Lactoferrin also attaches to any of the extra
iron that the
baby doesn't
absorb and keeps it from allowing harmful bacteria to grow in the
baby's gastrointestinal tract.
So, during the first 6 months of breastfeeding, the easily
absorbed iron along with the
baby's own
iron stores should be enough to prevent
iron deficiency.
And even if
iron is perfectly
absorbed in a
baby's body, he will still have lack of
iron.
Rapid weight loss, a lower daily calorie intake, and a limited ability to
absorb folate, zinc, calcium, vitamin B12, and
iron can put you and your
baby at risk for nutritional deficiencies.
Yes, the
iron in formula isn't as well -
absorbed as the
iron in breast milk, but there is so much
iron in formula that
babies get more than enough
iron.
From my understanding, while formula has more
iron, it is not as easily
absorbed as the
iron in breast milk, and therefore formula fed
babies are at a higher risk for problems than breastfed
babies.
If your
baby has been mostly breastfeeding, he may benefit from
baby food made with meat, which contains more easily
absorbed sources of
iron and zinc that are needed by 4 to 6 months of age.
Still, the
iron available is breastmilk is
absorbed easily, and most
babies have enough
iron to last them several months past the six month mark.
Mangoes — and other foods high in vitamin C — help your
baby absorb more
iron from the foods he eats.
Formulas contain too much
iron, but this quantity may be necessary to ensure the
baby absorbs enough to prevent
iron deficiency.
After this time, a
baby is not able to
absorb as much
iron from breast milk as before.
The
iron in formula is poorly
absorbed, and most of it, the
baby poops out.
However, there is some controversy over this advice with regard to breastfed
babies, because the
iron in breast milk is extremely well
absorbed.
So,
babies absorb a greater percentage of it but, they have been seeing that there is a trend that
babies who are solely breastfed, especially if it's more than 6 months to become
Iron deficient.
During fetal development,
babies absorb a large amount of
iron that they store for their body's use in their first half - year.
The large percentage of curds in cow's milk makes
iron difficult for
babies to
absorb.
So even though an
iron - fortified formula has more
iron, the
baby absorbs less.
A low
iron formula mimics that, however, unlike breast milk, where nearly 100 % of the
iron is
absorbed by the
baby, the
iron in formula is not
absorbed as well.
So giving breastfed
babies things fortified with
iron may actually impede their ability to
absorb iron.
What's more, vitamin C helps your
baby effectively
absorb iron and calcium from his food.
Not only does this make it more digestible and minimizes the choking hazard for younger
babies, recent research has shown that the
iron from very finely ground meat is much more readily
absorbed by your
baby's body.
However, when exclusively breastfed
babies are introduced to solid foods, they begin to
absorb less
iron from their milk.
The
iron from breast milk is very bioavailable (meaning it is well
absorbed by
babies — see this page for more information).
On top of all this, breastfeeding is much safer than infant formula as it provides
babies with better nutrition and makes it easier for them to
absorb all the protein, calcium, and
iron in it.
The
iron in breastmilk is easily
absorbed by
baby — the
iron level in formula is higher than in breastmilk because it is less easily
absorbed.
Your milk also has one of the best forms of
iron that is
absorbed into the
baby's system remarkably well.
Iron, which is very important for
babies and children, is more easily
absorbed by the body when it comes from meat.
Although the
iron from breast milk is easily
absorbed, it may not be enough for a premature
baby (we have more information about
iron here, although please do note that some of the facts given apply — as stated — to full term
babies).
Many question this approach, because further research has demonstrated that an exclusively breastfed
baby (ie one that receives no formula milk or solid food whatsoever)
absorbs sufficient
iron from his milk well beyond the sixth month.
In addition to zinc and protein, red meat is naturally rich in a form of
iron that's easily
absorbed by your
baby's body.