Anemia is a very common disorder from the sixth month of life. It is corrected by offering the child an iron supplement a day.
What is anemia?
In babies, anemia is almost always a lack of iron.
What is the function of iron in the body?
Iron is an essential mineral for health, the body needs it to make hemoglobin, a component of red blood cells that transports oxygen to the tissues. Lack of iron causes loss of energy for daily life.
Why does the baby have anemia?
In the first six months, the infant usually does not have anemia because he maintains the iron deposits that he acquired in the maternal uterus and, in addition, receives this mineral through milk. The problem can appear after six months when the deposits are decreasing and the child needs a greater supply of iron for his development. If you don’t eat small amounts of iron-rich foods in addition to milk, your iron stores begin to drop.
What are iron-rich foods?
Iron is found in many foods of animal and plant origin; The one that best uses the organism is the one that comes from foods of animal origin: beef, chicken, fish and egg yolk. Among plant-based foods, legumes (beans, lentils, chickpeas), dark green leafy vegetables (peas, spinach, broccoli) and wheat bread provide iron, but the body absorbs it worse.
What are the symptoms of anemia?
Many children with anemia do not have any symptoms at first, because iron levels drop very slowly. But in a short time he becomes pale (it is especially noticeable in the lips and mucosa of the conjunctiva, which are not red), and irritable, he loses his appetite and his growth rate decreases. Some mothers notice that they sweat more than before.
What does the treatment consist of?
To increase the body’s iron levels, the pediatrician will recommend giving the baby a liquid iron supplement every day (the multivitamin supplement with iron is not enough) and it will also be necessary to offer foods rich in this mineral.
How long should the baby take iron?
Depending on the iron levels the baby has, the pediatrician will recommend giving the supplement for weeks or months. A month after starting treatment, the doctor will order blood tests to see hemoglobin and hematocrit; When both are normalized, it will be enough for the baby to take small amounts of meat, chicken, fish or eggs to keep iron at the proper levels. Six months after finishing the treatment the doctor will ask for another blood test to make sure that the iron has not dropped again.