should you supplement 6month old with iron if exclusively breastfeeding?

[kutilputil]

hi, this is a follow on from other conversations and i'm still seeking for answers! i decided to breastfeed my son and give him them very best start in life and thus nine months on i am still giving him only breastmilk formula.however, when he was approaching 6 months and ready to be weaned i read in various places that the iron stores that a baby is born with runs out by 6 months and if not given formula then baby should be given a supplement of iron with vit A & D. i mentioned this to both GP and HV but both said no to supplement and not to worry.but i am worried as recently WE made a refferal to hospital for our son who only weighs 15 lbs and after pushing for a blood test the results were that he was a beta thaleseimia carrier and had iron deficiency anaemia!i was terribly angry and still am as i feel that if 3 months back he was given the supplement he would have been ok but now he had been perscribed iron supplement because the damage is done and i feel so let down!what is the case with breastfeeding and iron...have a a reason to worry and what can i do to increase my sons iron level and put a bit of weight on him.heeeeeeeeeeeelp!

Hi kutilputil - I assume that your ds is also eating solids now? There is no need to supplement with iron if you are still breastfeeding, as he should be getting iron in solid food as long as he is eating a good, varied diet.

Make sure he red meat, green vegetables, eggs, fortified cereals etc. which are all rich in iron. Diluted orange juice with his meals is good as vitamin C enables iron to be absorbed more easily.

thanks bonym, still need more...anyone...is there anyone out there?pls help

I heard that you SHOULD give supplements to BF babies, as its already put in formula. Cant hurt, can it? Ive seen baby multi viamins (dropper I think). Worth a go, surely? Not sure if it works, but maybe increase your iron intake aswell? see if that gets to him?

*vitamins

sorry to sound silly, is this the same son who is known to be iron deficient?

Breastmilk has plenty of iron in it, in an easily absorbable form. The iron in formula is hard for a baby to absorb which is why so much iron is added to it.

Giving vitamins and minerals to a baby should only be done on medical advice and not just because "it won't hurt". Some vitamins and minerals could be dangerous in large quantities.

This page should help as well.

"Most babies under six months don?t need any vitamin supplements as they get all the nutrients they need from breast or formula milk. After six months, the current advice is for a breastfed baby who is having breastmilk as the main drink to have Vitamin A and D supplements.

Bottle fed babies on less than 600ml of formula a day need supplements, too. After a year, discuss the situation with your health visitor. Toddlers whose diets are good, and who have the chance to go outside every day, don?t need supplements (vitamin D can be processed by the body through access to sunlight)"

Hard to know really whats right/wrong

I'm in the US.. we were told that bf babies DO NOT need iron unless there is a medical reason (eg anaemia). Breast Milk is designed to give babies everything they need so as long as you are eating well and the baby is developing well there is no need.

However, we were told that autumn/ winter babies should take vitamin A & D supplements. Babies here sometimes get rickets due to lack of vitamin D. There is plenty of Vitamin D in breast milk BUT it needs sunlight to be absorbed & it's v cold here in winter so peple don't take their babies out (except me - we went out every single day ).

I wouldn't worry about any supplements to be honest...

Also, over here there was recently some research that found that the amount of Iron in some formulas is 400% more than babies need and there may be a link between formula fed babies & early-onset Parkinsons. Don't want to scare you, but please make sure you make an informed choice - formula in the UK may well be different and it is quite possible that there is more research showing the opposite.

Why is there so much conflicting advice when it comes to babies?

thankyou all for your advice.just to point out that i am low in iron myself, an on and off thing and do need to take iron tablets but i just cant seem to take them!does this affect ds iron level?how?