Advice for Anemic 13 Month Old Taking Iron

J., get some chlorophyl and put about 1/4 teaspoon in some juice and have her drink it every day, a couple of times a day. The iron supplements that kids take are so harsh, and not easily absorbed by the body. Chlorophyl is one molecule off blood, and used to be used in place of blood for transfusions. It will get the red blood cells hopping and bring her hematocrit up in a very short time!

J.,

You are not worrying too much! You are fulfilling your responsibility to your daughter to be her advocate. I would also say that there is no reason to suppose that breastfeeding has caused her anemia. This is one of those pseudo-medicine myths. While it is true that breastmilk contains less iron, the iron that is in it is highly absorbable (about 70% absorbed). Formula and fortified cereals have much more iron in them, but it is much less available to your baby (around 3-10% absorbed). I think doctors are just predisposed to love anything they can assign a number to, and as you know, there is no way to quantify breastfeeding!

I would call into the doctors office and ask what the RANGE of normal is for her age. (It also varies based on gender.) You said she is only "slightly anemic," so you should be doing great just by bumping up her consumed iron and skipping the supplement. Even if you do choose to supplement, there is no reason for her to be taking a double dose when she is only "slightly anemic." While it's unlikely that she will suffer from acute iron poisoning, she will probably suffer from constipation, and there is no reason to fill her up with some synthetic junk that she doesn't need anyway! Here are some foods high in iron:
*Beef, Pork, Lamb, Turkey, Chicken (Brown meat has slightly more iron than white meat.)
*Green Leafy Vegetables: Spinach, Asparagus, Broccoli, Collard Greens, Mustard Greens, Kale, Turnip Greens, Parsley, Cabbage
*Liver, Tofu, Barley, Fish: Tuna Potato (I have heard that babies love tofu chunks.)
*Salmon, Shrimp, Tuna, Oysters, Clams, and most kinds of seafood. (I have read that babies should only eat seafood once a week due to possible mercury buildup.)
*Most kind of Dried Beans: Lima Beans, Kidney Beans, Navy Beans, Soy Beans, Chick Beans, Pinto Beans, Black Eye Beans (Beans are one of the best first baby foods, and so easy to cook. My 1-year old loves feeding herself beans!)
*Cereals, Oatmeal, Pasta, Rice, Grits (Again, fortified foods are less available to the body because they are "fake" iron sources, and also more likely to constipate.)

Mentioned before, vitamin c boosts iron absorption, so if you can offer her a food rich in vitamin C with her meat, you will help her get the best out of her food. Foods high in vitamin C:
Citrus fruits
Strawberries
broccoli
green & red peppers (My babe LOVES diced red peppers)
brussels sprouts
honeydew & cantaloupe melons
tomatoes
cabbage
cauliflower
most juices are C fortified (Only offer a little daily, and water it down to reduce sugar intake.)
red and black currants
Kakadu plums
parsley (Could dice it finely and mix it in with other foods.)
kiwi fruit
guavas
papayas

Also, iron and calcium interfere with each other, so you might try for a calcium rich meal in the morning and an iron rich meal in the evening.

My daughters' doctor told me that iron-deficient anemia is only damaging when it is severe. They want to keep it from going downhill, of course, but it is not like this is a life-threatening issue that needs to be resolved immediately. If you are really concerned about her being anemic, you could give it a one-month trail run of offering iron and vitamin C rich foods and no supplementing, and then get her levels retested. If her doctor put her on a double dose of iron, I assume he set a date to retest her? If not, I would be concerned about the quality of care. Just my opinion! I would call in and let him know that you are concerned about the level of supplementation he has recommended. Share whatever alternative plan you have (increasing iron-rich foods, reducing the supplement, etc.) and arrange a date to have her iron retested. Be prepared to be told that you are worrying over nothing, that the supplement is perfectly safe, that you are putting your daughter's health at risk! I've heard it all! Be firm that this is the course you have chosen, and if they have logical reason why something you are proposing is dangerous, you are open to discuss it. Otherwise, this is what you are going to do. You can be respectful and still stand by your decision. Remember, you are your daughter's best advocate!

Best of luck,
S.

Hi J.,

I'm not in the medical profession and I haven't dealt with this for 16 years; however, my oldest had to take liquid iron. She was exclusively breastfed (a good thing ... don't think for a minute you're doing any disservice there!). After months of forcing the liquid down her throat, we stopped. She's fine, she always was. She didn't need to have that much iron and her skin is naturally Irish ivory. I'd try to give her iron through diet only. If she's still breastfed, you shouldn't have any constipation problems.

Blessings,
L.

I would like you to know I have problems getting enough iron when I am pregnant. I refuse to take iron pills due to the fact they tear my stomach up something terrible. Meat and spinach is wonderful, but the easiest and most bag for your buck is Cream of Wheat hot cereal. You could feed her cereal once a day and even make some extra and make a drink out of it. Most likely feeding your baby the Cream of Wheat cereal in the mornings, giving her spinach and meat through out the week would give her more than enough iron to not have to use supplements at all. I would ask your doctors office to be sure, but I know it did the trick for me three times now. I wouldn't worry about natural iron through food sources. I would be on the look out for her having an upset tummy from the supplement just in case. I KNOW iron can cause stomach problems. Good Luck!!! By the way, I don't mean just breakfast cereals, but really Cream of Wheat...The iron content in this cereal is way above any other source I have found including the greans and meat.

Dear J.,
Possibly already mentioned is a product called Floradex- you can find it at your Health Food Store or order it through Cascade Birthing Supplies on the net www.1cascade.com/. It is a wonderful natural iron supplement that won't cause constipation. That, combined with the foods you are giving her are great. I have always been surprised that apricots are one of the highest in iron- plus raisins- (red grapes-cut them up small for her) are also a great source of iron. When you feed her red meat, spinach, any food high in iron, don't feed her milk at the same time- calcium makes it harder to assimilate the iron, but vitamin C, such as orange juice helps our body's digest and utilize the iron in the foods we eat. It may be tricky at first to feed her vit c foods/juice and iron foods, but after a while she will have attained her iron level that she needs and it won't matter as much!

Also legumes like refries are high in iron, but my little ones would always get a rash from eating them at an early age. Your's might be fine with them.

Those suggestions are also good for mothers that need to "up" their iron levels. It helps with fatigue and builds the blood for childbearing as well.
Hope the info helps.
H. B.

My daughter was born with no iron (a very long story involving prenatal blood transfusuions) and, to add to it, we do not eat meat. If you are still nursing, the floradix that has been recommended is great and you should take it as well. My pediatrician and perinatologits told me that the baby will deplete your iron supplies so you need to keep them up in yourself too. It is very pricy. I was told that the issue is not that breastfeeding "bad", it is that formula is fortified with iron and prevents anemia while breastfeeding does not.

My daughter loves tofu and beans. Be sure to counter the iron with plenty of fiber and you'll be fine. I brown the tofu in a cast iron pan to add to the soluable iron. She likes it with brown rice (fiber) and a bit of terriaki to sweeten it all up (quite easy to make if you can't find an appropriate store-bought variety). Be careful of canned food. It has high levels of BPA (I understand that it is a more likely source than plastic bably bottles). Also, apricots are a "dirty dozen" item with very high pesticide residues. Organic dried apricots soaked in hot water to soften them and cut into small pieces are great at this age. I get them in bulk at the natural foods store. Blackstrap molasses is high in iron (not the regular grocery store kind but the natural foods variety). Once you're used to the strong flavor, it is very good on cut-up fruit.

Also, there is nothing wrong with a supplement. I was told that iron is key in development of many of the body's systems, including the brain. It is also important for the rapid growth that babies go through. You do not want to risk long-term setbacks because of a generalized fear of modern medicine. Modern medicine saved my little one and I know they only have the best interests of your child at heart.

Too much iron is dangerous. If she is eating iron enriched foods, even ground turkey, chicken has iron not just red meat, then I would talk to the Dr about if she needs the supplement. I was warned big time not to use this supplement unless it is in severe cases of anemia. Just call your Dr and maybe have her retested after a week of eating iron enriched foods. I know the supplements may build her back up and when she is back to norm I would think it isn't safe to keep her on it at all. Just my thoughts. Supplements should ONLY be used if a child isn't eating well.
Vitamin C helps the absorbtion of Iron too.
There are a lot of things yummy that have iron in them.

http://pediatrics.about.com/od/nutrition/a/06_iron_foods.htm

I don't know how much is too much, but I do know that it WILL constipate her. Be very careful.

My daughter now almost 12 yrs old was also anemic around
that age. She was also on the iron supplement.....I also
checked the labels on cereals, you would be amazed at the
iron content in some of them. Caption Crunch w/crunch
berries at the time had more than the healther cereals....
just remember to feed it to her without the milk. We did
the beer, cereal and supplement for about 6 mos......she
was back to normal. When she got older I gave her the
chewy vitamins, be careful with those, not many are high
in iron.
Now, when my daughter asks for certain foods that are high
in iron, especially beef we give it to her....just because
we know her body is needing it.
Good luck.

I would skip the iron supplements and instead do a more natural (and less likely to constipate) supplement like Floridix. You can find it at your local health food stores. Midwives use this method to improve hematocrits during pregnancy and find it more effective than chelated iron.

We did Poly-Vi-Sol with iron for a hematocrit of 7 as well as whole milk with Carnation Instant Breakfast. He did just fine, and came back strong. I'm not sure how much iron is in it. Also, if you're nursing, taking extra iron yourself will help. I was unable to nurse due to our little guys other issues. One thing I found, is that if the iron difficiency is secondary, it's usually very easily and quickly resolved. Our doctor told us to make sure we keep him on higher doses of iron, but also zinc. As long as your daughter isn't too constipated, you're probably just fine with what she's taking. I hope she gets better soon!

You are on the right track- Follow your doctors advice and stay in touch with him... He will probably want to check you daughters iron again in a future appointment.

Constipation is a sign of to much iron- just watch her, her energy should be increasing as she gets some iron in her. Fatigue is a sign of lack of iron.

Hi J.,

I am a Registered Nurse and a mother of 3 grown children as well as a Grandma of a beautiful 2 year old girl. Ideally, your daughter should get all of the iron she needs from the food that she eats. Did her Dr. specify how long she would have to take the iron supplement? There are a couple of things you can watch for that may indicate too much iron: Watch her bowel movements - her stool will be dark because of added iron but too much iron and not enough water can cause constipation and hard, painful stool or it may do the opposite and cause diarrhea. Iron supplements can also cause stomach aches so you may want to watch her for signs/symptoms of tummy upset such as increased fussiness and decreased appetitie or reluctance to eat. Also watch to see if she get's cold easily or has difficutly or painful breathing. All of these things could be signs of too much iron. One more thing you can try is to give her orange juice with her food as this helps the body absorb iron. Don't hesitate to call her Dr. if you have any questions or concerns, that's what they are there for! Hope this helps. Good Luck! K. N.

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My son had the same thing, and right now your daughter needs all the iron she can get. You won't overdose from beef and spinich. And the 30mg a day should come in 3 doses, correct? You just need to do this iron 'therapy' for about 3 months or so- it seems really intense, but her numbers/iron level will come up and you won't have to push it so hard in the future. We did that for my son when he was one and now he's 2 and a half and simply eats his flintstone vitamin each day and is doing fine. So stick with it even though it seems intense, its only temporary. We noticed a big difference in sleeping and energy level after our son was on iron therapy.

Just have her HCT rechecked soon. Get her iron level up to where it should be THEN back off.