Contents

Disclaimer

Oxford University Press makes no representation, express or implied, that the drug dosages in this book are correct. Readers must therefore always check the product information and clinical procedures with the most up to date published product information and data sheets provided by the manufacturers and the most recent codes of conduct and safety regulations. The authors and the publishers do not accept responsibility or legal liability for any errors in the text or for the misuse or misapplication of material in this work. Except where otherwise stated, drug dosages and recommendations are for the non-pregnant adult who is not breastfeeding.

Show Summary Details
Page of

Iron in pregnancy and breastfeeding 

Iron in pregnancy and breastfeeding
Chapter:
Iron in pregnancy and breastfeeding
Author(s):

Sir Peter Gluckman

, Mark Hanson

, Chong Yap Seng

, and Anne Bardsley

DOI:
10.1093/med/9780198722700.003.0020
Page of

PRINTED FROM OXFORD MEDICINE ONLINE (www.oxfordmedicine.com). © Oxford University Press, 2016. All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a PDF of a single chapter of a title in Oxford Medicine Online for personal use (for details see Privacy Policy and Legal Notice).

date: 18 January 2020

Iron requirements increase approximately 2.5-fold by the end of pregnancy, representing the largest relative increase in nutrient requirements for pregnant women. The total additional iron requirement in the third trimester is 9#amp;#x2013;12 mg/day above pre-pregnancy needs, and even with this additional intake, women need to enter pregnancy with iron stores of approximately 500 mg to be able to fully meet the demands of pregnancy. The prevalence of iron deficiency and anaemia is therefore very high among pregnant women and can result in cognitive and motor deficits in the infant that may be irreversible. Prevention of deficiency is therefore critical. Building sufficient iron stores prior to conception is preferable, as it is difficult to obtain adequate iron from diet alone to meet late pregnancy requirements. Iron supplementation of 30 mg/day should be considered, particularly if dietary intake of meat is low.

Access to the complete content on Oxford Medicine Online requires a subscription or purchase. Public users are able to search the site and view the abstracts for each book and chapter without a subscription.

Please subscribe or login to access full text content.

If you have purchased a print title that contains an access token, please see the token for information about how to register your code.

For questions on access or troubleshooting, please check our FAQs, and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us.