Breastfeeding an infant with thal minor

I am an alpha thal minor and my husband has no thal. Doc has said that my 4 month old baby boy is very likely to have thal minor as well when they did a blood test for him 2 months ago. He is a full term baby.

I didn't know I was a carrier till my blood was tested during pregnancy. My boy is also healthy so far...

I am currently total breastfeeding him since his birth and I intend to total breastfeed him till he turns 6 months old. I am concerned about whether he will have enough iron and if I should supplement him with iron drops. Can anyone advise? Thanks

Hi Joanie,

Welcome to Thalpal!

Well, at such young age, I don't think you need to give him any iron infusions, at least, as of now. Don't worry, your baby won't have any problems.

-P.

A breasfed infant will not have as high an iron level as a baby not being breastfed. This is normal and natural and is not of any concern. Your baby will get all the nutrition needed from breast milk. Make sure your own diet is balanced and nutritious.

Thanks Pratik and Andy for the reassurance.

My boy's PD seemed keen to test my boy for iron deficiency when my boy was 2 months old and spent a good amount of time persuading me. Well I refused the iron deficiency test because my boy was hospitalized at that time for viral fever and had been given quite a number of jabs. I felt so sorry for him. The lab tech also had great difficulty searching for his vein to draw his blood.

My PD said there are two schools of thought. 1) To do nothing 2) To supplement with iron.
Should I test my boy for iron deficiency? How is Thal minor linked to anemia?

Looking back, I grew up fine with no medical intervention regarding my thal. condition.

There is no connection between thal minor and iron deficiency. The two can coincide, but they are not related and treating thal minor with iron is counterproductive in the long term, as it can lead to a build up of iron in the body. At this age, nothing should be assumed concerning iron status. There is no need to test at this point. A breastfed baby will have lower iron levels, and this is natural and normal.

I am also breastfeeding and have thal minor. Although it has been a struggle for me bc I have a few deficiencies my ferritin is low(7) so I supplement .myself   My LO is 5 months old. She get solids 2x a day. I have not tested her iron.  As for baby once he starts eating solids if he has not already he will also get iron from foods.