Iron and the Exclusively Breast-Fed Infant from Birth to Six Months

This study was designed to determine whether normal, full-term, exclusively breast-fed infants develop iron deficiency anemia, as defined by hemoglobin or red blood cell indices more than two standard deviations below the age-specific mean, or depletion of iron stores, as defined by an abnormally low serum ferritin level. Thirty-three breast-fed infants were followed from birth to 6 months. Maternal blood and cord blood at delivery, and venous blood from the infants at 2, 4, and 6 months were analyzed for anemia as defined above. At 6 months of age, the mean hemoglobin concentration of these infants was slightly higher than the normal mean; four of 33 infants (12%) had a mean corpuscular volume greater than 2 SD below the reported normal mean; and two of 33 infants (6%) had a serum ferritin level less than 12 ng protein/ml. These data suggest that the infant who is exclusively breast-fed for the first 6 months of life is not at high risk for the development of iron deficiency anemia or the depletion of iron stores during that time.