Iron in formula for thal infants

hi to all:

something interesting happened today. we took Lauryn to the dr and she now weighs 9lbs 14 oz!(she was born at 7.5 and she is 5 weeks old). she is also 23 inches. she is doing beautifully.
i switched her to soy formula (as opposed to regular formula) b/c she is getting very colicky.
the doctor STRESSED to me no matter what, make sure she has the iron in the formula. she said the low iron/no iron formulas should be taken off the market. she akso said that the iron is crucial for ANY baby at this stage for their brain and eye development.
according to her, we do not need to worry about iron products yet until she is tx dependent. i was advised against the iron by one doc. and advised FOR it by two others. ( one hemo. said no the other said yes and her pedi. says yes)
any thoughts?

Thanks ,

Christine

Hi Christine,

It really depends on the iron level of your baby. The doctors are right in this case (Finally! ) as a growing child needs the iron for development.

Since your baby is not on Transfusions yet and there is no reason present that she might be iron overload, it would be wise to keep her iron in normal range lest she gets iron deficient and effect her growth and development; if you stop her iron intake completely at this time.

Take care, Peace!

I could just shoot from the hip, or I could research this question for 4 hours. I chose the latter. 

I think the necessity of iron supplements depends on the age that transfusions start.

From http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/minerals/iron/

 

Individuals at increased risk of iron deficiency

Infants and children between the ages of 6 months and 4 years

A full-term infant's iron stores are usually sufficient to last for 6 months.

And from pg 16  http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:YzR5Dqn1jHwJ:www.dshs.state.tx.us/wichd/gi/wicnews/winter2002-03-issue.pdf+iron+supplementation+newborn+babies+thalassemia&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=53&client=firefox-a

Infants with the beta type of thalassemia major must
receive special formula that is low in iron, because the
higher amount of iron in regular infant formula will
not resolve the anemia and can contribute to iron
overload, according to Peter Rowley, M.D., a pediatric
hematologist at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester,
New York. Iron overload can be treated (as described
later in this article), but prevention or delay of iron
overload is preferred

Dr Rowley was Lisa's doctor.

Right now may be too early for iron supplements. At 4-6 months it may become necessary if transfusions are not yet imminent. Unless an iron deficiency has been found, there is no reason to supplement at this point.

Christine, have the doctors confirmed Thal. major for your baby, yet? If yes, then Andy's right and you should avoid excess iron as your baby will eventually get iron overloaded so you should stop giving her iron every chance you get even at this early stage.

I had given my response earlier as a safe precaution that you should check your baby's iron levels if she is not Thal. major and not suffer from iron deficient anemia if you don't give her enough iron.

Take care, Peace!

 
                   Because all of my  children and spicially Abdulwahab they are natural  breast feeding for two years all of them ofcourse ther is some food after few month with the natural milk feeding ..
 really i don't know why my children all of them don't like powdr milk  me and my wife tried many kind maybe all of the kind but all of them refuse so as i said to my big brother Andy when they grow up and decide to get married am going to give them real hard time  ((Andy i think you know what i mean :winky)) also from my experiance i found out the natural milk from the mother is more power than powder milk also i found it is good for the brain in the future so i don't have to get head ache with any of them in his school or i get angry from them  if they fail in the test my point they will be more cleaver with the natural milk from the mother....
                              khalifa
                         state of kuwait

Hi Chrissy,

My daughter has been diagnosed with beta-thal-major and as I had posted earlier has started blood transfusion, at two months of age. We met with Dr. Ellis Neufeld at the Boston Children's Hospital last week. I had asked him about the iron in the formula and he indicated that we should switch to the low-iron formula, but he indicated that the iron from food is negligible as compared to what my daughter is going to get through her transfusions.

Also, he was of the opinion that since infants need the iron for their normal growth and development, and they tend to use up a lot of iron during their growth spurts, it is not advisable to wean them off the formula with iron (use formula with low iron instead).

Hope this helps.

Bostonian