The maternal iron status was defined as ID if ferritin<50 ng/mL 14). Exclusion criteria were (1) births at 11 g/dL and ferritin≤12 ng/ 13). Seventy breastfed infants aged 4 to 24 months and their mothers who visited Pediatric Department at the CHA Bundang Medical Center (Seongnam, Korea) were included in our study from February 2012 to May 2013. This retrospective study was performed to investigate the relationships between the iron and vitamin D status of breastfed infants and their mothers and to evaluate the risk factors for iron deficiency (ID) and VDD in breastfed infants. However, the iron and vitamin D status of breastfed infants in relation to the status of their mothers has not yet been sufficiently evaluated. Previous studies have reported a high prevalence of Vitamin D deficiency (VDD) in breastfed infants 8, 9, 10), and AAP recommended that all breastfed infants routinely should receive an oral supplement of vitamin D, 400 IU per day, beginning at hospital discharge to maintain an adequate serum vitamin D concentration 11).Ī concurrent deficit of micronutrients, including iron and vitamin D, in breastfed infants may result in a wide spectrum of adverse effects on growth, development and performance 12). Vitamin D stores in the fetus depend on maternal vitamin D status and breastfed infants continue to rely upon their mother's nutritional status. However, several studies have shown that there is little correlation between maternal and neonatal ferritin concentrations 5, 6), and that maternal anemia does not affect breast milk iron or lactoferrin concentration at birth and during early lactation 7). The American Academy of Pediatrics' (AAP) recommendations indicate that supplementation of oral iron drops before 6 months to breastfed infants may be needed to support iron stores 4). It has been reported that infants born to anemic mothers have low iron stores and are more likely to develop anemia 2, 3). Given that maternal nutritional status affects the contents of breast milk, it can be hypothesized that the deficiency of iron and other nutrients in mothers may reduce the micronutrient stores in their infants. There has been debate about the adequacy of the human milk for maintaining an ideal iron status and for providing other micronutrients in exclusively breastfed infants 1).
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |