Iron supplements provide little benefit for pregnant women who already have normal levels of iron in their blood, according to research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Reuters reports.
Iron Supplements Do Not Benefit Non-Anemic Pregnant Women, Study Finds
March 10, 2011 — Iron supplements provide little benefit for pregnant women who already have normal levels of iron in their blood, according to research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Reuters reports.
The study involved 1,270 pregnant women in western Africa. Fourty-three percent of the women were anemic at the beginning of the study. Half of the women took supplements that contained 60 milligrams of iron and 400 micrograms of folic acid. The other women took supplements with 30 milligrams of iron, 400 micrograms of folic acid and other vitamins. All of the participants took the supplements until three months after delivery.
Researchers found that the supplements increased iron levels in anemic women, but not in non-anemic women. All of the women had iron levels of about 11 grams per deciliter of blood at the end of the study.Low maternal iron levels during pregnancy has been linked to low infant birthweight. Women need more iron during pregnancy to produce larger volumes of blood for the fetus to develop properly. U.S. guidelines currently recommend that pregnant women get 27 milligrams of iron per day through diet and supplements (Boerner, Reuters, 3/8).
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