Do babies need iron supplements?

In a normal full-term baby, the iron stored in the body can maintain the synthesis of hemoglobin within 5 months after birth.

How to supplement iron for babies must be phased, because different periods have different needs.

1. Like a baby of 1~5 months, if the mother has received a sufficient amount of iron supplementation during pregnancy (especially the last three months), and it is not the case of premature birth or twins, it is generally only through breastfeeding. Meet the needs of the body. Although the iron content in breast milk is very low, only 1.5 to 2.0 mg per thousand milliliters, the absorption rate of iron can reach 50%.

2. With the growth and development of babies, breastfeeding alone has become increasingly unable to meet their needs. Therefore, the baby needs iron supplementation after 6 months. Parents are recommended to feed the baby some iron-fortified milk powder, rice noodles and biscuits.

3, 8 months later, more and more teeth will grow out, so the chewing function will become more and more perfect. At this time, parents can choose animal liver, lean meat, fish, chicken and duck blood, fresh mushrooms, black fungus, hair vegetables, jujube, sesame paste and soy products for them to eat to supplement iron.

Symptoms of iron deficiency in infants

1. Look at emotions: mood fluctuates easily, irritable, irritable or indifferent.

2. Watch and eat: Lost appetite, don't like to eat, get thirsty easily when eating, and ask for water.

3. Look at the face: often lack of energy, pale complexion, nails, pale red or pale lips and tongue.

4. Seeing behavior: often tired easily, less activity, tiredness, drowsiness, weakness in legs and feet; inattention, often slipping away when listening to stories.

5. Seeing a doctor: Because of the low immune function, it is more prone to various infectious diseases. A careful mother will find that every time the flu comes, her baby can't escape.

Effective ways to supplement iron for babies

The best way to supplement iron is through dietary supplementation, because dietary supplementation is the most natural and safe method.

1. Therefore, in the diet, choose iron-rich foods as much as possible, such as animal liver, refined meat, fish, chicken and duck blood, fresh mushrooms (red or white mushrooms), spinach, egg yolks, black fungus, jujube, milk Class and soy products.

2. In addition, in choosing cooking tools, it is best to use iron pans and shovel to avoid frying and roasting. Use more methods such as stewing, boiling, and frying to add more soup to keep out the cold and resist dryness.

The Chinese Nutrition Society recommends that the daily iron supply for babies is 10 mg, and the most reasonable and safe source of these iron elements is natural food.

When does the baby get iron?
Children from 6 months to 3 years are the age group with the highest prevalence of iron deficiency anemia, so infants and young children are the key targets for prevention and treatment.

Generally, supplementary iron supplementation starts at 4 months, and the best time to supplement iron should be around half a year old.

After 4 months, the baby's iron requirement increases.

After 4 months, add iron-rich food supplements to your baby according to the age of the month. Start with vegetable water and egg yolk, and then gradually add fresh vegetable puree, liver puree, meat puree and iron-fortified foods (such as fortified rice flour, milk powder, etc.) .

Before the baby is 1 year old, try not to use milk as a substitute for breast milk. The baby's digestive system has not been fully developed. Drinking fresh milk for the baby is prone to gastrointestinal indigestion and iron deficiency symptoms.

When the baby’s food transitions from a complementary food to a normal diet, the mother can expand the content of her diet, adding black fungus, seaweed, sesame, soybeans and other foods, and let the baby eat more fresh vegetables (especially dark vegetables) and fruit.

It is better to take medicine after 1 year old.

Generally, you don’t need to give your baby any special medicine for iron supplementation. The egg yolk is rich in iron. You can crush the egg yolk with water when you add supplementary food for 4 months to help your baby swallow better!

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