Do BF babies over 6 months need supplements?

[ArtichokeTagine]

My DD is just over 8 months and BF. She has 3 solid meals a day with veggies, meat and fish included. Today I was told she will need iron supplements as she is not getting the supplements put in formula.

Can anyone tell me if this is true as I had never heard it before?

No, there is plenty of iron in breastmilk - formula has much more added as it is not easily absorbed.

Will return with link

Here's one

No, she will not need supplements if she is eating a balanced diet and breastfeeding.

My dd2 was 17 months old and still bf and was found to have slightly low iron. This wasn't anything to do with the bfing, it was entirely due to her fussy eating and very small appetite. She had to have iron supplements for a few weeks.

Two months later and her eating has finally improved.

And anyway, she's getting iron from her diet.

Iron is the only common significant nutritional deficit in babies, but if your DD eats meat (Other good sources: green veg, dried apricots, lentils etc, wholemeal bread.), I'm sure she's fine.

And yeah, as Frances says, there's not much iron in breastmilk (I think it's partly dependent on how anaemic you are or aren't), but it is all bioavailable.

F& Z - I'm a little confused by the link -I think it is talking about the percentage of iron in breastmilk that is absorbed, not the amount of iron in breastmilk in totatl, if I've interpreted it correctly.

I was actually under the impression that breastmilk contains little iron.

my DS is 16 months and still breastfed. he doesnt have a huge appetite for solids but i try to get as much variety into him as possible. i had also heard about supplements being needed for breastfed babies and although there is less iron in your milk than formula at this age it is more available and easily digested by your DD from your milk.

when i asked my HV and GP i was told that as long as my DS was getting a variety of iron rich foods like green veg and meat then supplements werent necessary.

i do however give ds a vitamin supplement but that is mainly because he has food allergies so has to avoid certain food groups. HTH

Thank you everyone. I keep forgetting the Kellymom site. It is a fantastic resource and I must bookmark it.

It is a shame as I know two women who introduced formula at 6 months purely because they were told BF was not enough when it came to iron and other minerals. There is so much misinformation about. It was my HV who told me DD needed supplements.

Arti - it sounds like you're doing great regarding your dd's diet - she's really getting a good variety and breastmilk. I'm amazed that they suggested supplements. No one ever suggested supplments for my DD, even though I told them many times that she just wasn't eating much at all.

Her low iron was only discovered because she was in hospital for an illness.

My sister in law made me very angry by telling me the reason why dd had low iron was because she was breasfed.

yes I know a woman who is giving her 9 month old LO formula on his breakfast cereal instead of cows milk as she is still bf and worried about iron...

I'm not sure what to think about that - surely it's just a waste of money?

I find myself thinking surely human babies can't be so poorly designed that they can't get adequate iron from natural food??

sorry belgo, crossed posts
I meant in general...clearly there are some cases where iron supplements are a good thing

my dd was a lot older when she needed the supplements.

"I was actually under the impression that breastmilk contains little iron. "

Yes, it does contain small amounts of iron, compared to formula because the iron in breastmilk is extremely easily absorbed. Breastmilk contains all the iron your baby needs for at least the first 6 months, as the link states. What would be the point of a species producing a food for its young that didn't contain all the nutrients necessary?

F&Z, I'm referring to your comment that breastmilk contains plenty of iron. I didn't think it did? I thought that for the first six months it contains enough iron because the baby has already a storage of iron, but after that, when the baby's iron levels start to deplete, it doesn't contain much iron.

Belgo, from the link I posted:

"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
well into the second six months."

F&Z - I'm referring to your comment:
'there is plenty of iron in breastmilk'
which on it's own, I find a little misleading.

So "enough iron to keep a baby healthy up until at least the first year"

isn't "plenty"?

There is plenty of iron in breastmilk, I am not sure what you are trying to say

I disagree that there is plenty of iron in bm.

There is enough iron, probably until the first year, because of the iron stored in the baby's body, as your link shows.

That's not the same as 'plenty of iron in breastmilk'.

We seem to be arguing about semantics here. Or are you under the impression that there isn't any iron in breastmilk (as often stated by HVs) and that the iron comes purely from the stores? There is enough iron in breastmilk for babies - there is "plenty"

F&Z - I think basically we agree with each other, it's just the use of the word 'plenty' that I found misleading.

I know there is enough iron in bm.(at least for the first year)

Ok

I am using it in the same sense that I would if you offered me more food and I had enough:

"no thanks, this is plenty"

ie, enough for me

what sense do other people use it?