Iron Deficiency In Children

It is not necessary that iron deficiency always lead to anemia. Nowadays, more and more parents are becoming aware if iron deficiency and want to save their children from this problem. Infants who are deficient in iron need not be anemic.

Iron is very important as it makes haemoglobin. This is what helps in carrying oxygen to all parts of the body through the blood. There is lots of iron which is stored in the bone marrow. It is used by the body. Less iron can affect the proper functioning of the body.

Everybody has a certain amount of iron which is is already present in the body. It is formed while the mother is pregnant. This iron can be stored and used for up to four months. Besides this, the child needs to be given additional iron through their diet. It is seen that children how are prematurely born will have less iron. Iron will help the baby in his growth and development in the first year of life.

Since iron is passed on through the mother, it is very important that the mother takes good prenatal care and has a diet which is high in iron. It is very important  to give the child breast milk during the first year of his life. As the child is growing, make sure that you provide him foods which are rich in iron and also take the child for regular check ups to detect iron deficiencies or anemia so that it can be treated.

By the time your child is three of four years old, he will become a fussy eater and will not want to eat healthy fruits and vegetables. Eating junk foods and an excess of sweets do not give iron to the body, and this will slowly lead to an iron deficiency.

The problems that come to children with an iron deficiency are the loss of appetite. You will find the child having a loss of attention span and will not perform well in school. A child with less iron will experience growth retardation. A baby’s weight should triple his birth weight in the first year of life. If this has not happened, it is probably because of an iron deficiency. The child will not be energetic, and will be more irritable. He may gradually develop anemia.

Less iron will also mean an increase in infections so rather than add to the problems make sure that the child’s intake of iron is high.