I breastfeed my baby , but still we found out that she is anemic , not eating properly.?

Question

my 8 month old , is not eating properly and we found out that she is anemic and started giving her iron drops. she was OK with iron drops for 3 weeks and gained little weight too, but now it is becoming really difficult for us to feed her she is nasiated. I do berest feed her, she goes to poo for at least 8-9 times a day. All this nasuea and poo for 8-9 times do you think it is because of iron drops , I heared some where that iron drops does go with beast milk, can any body help regarding this.

Answer 1

Are you giving her the iron drops right before or after breast feeding? The iron can curdle the milk. In my experience, they seemed to affect my daughter's sense of taste slightly. I started giving her the drops in between meal and snack time without anything else (she was good about taking them) except a craker. She seemed to eat better and it seemed not to affect her sense of taste. She also had some diarrhea when she was on them. I'm not sure why, usually iron makes people constipated. One of my friend's sons also had this problem. You should consider upping your Iron intake as well. Try eating red meat, leafy greens and even iron fortified foods. The inorganic and plant sources are harder to digest than animal sources. Calcium can also slow the absorption of the iron.

Answer 2

Iam not sure why they would instruct you to give a breast fed child iron drops, or even a child on formula, for more than a week or so. Your doctor sounds a little out of the loop. It might be time to look for a new one.

You should be taking a prenantal with plenty of iron, and giving her foods with plenty of iron. Or if she were on formula you'd give her formula fortified with iron.

I would take her in and have her checked again, and see a DIFFERENT doctor. Iron poisoning is the largest cause of death by poisoning in children under 2 years old, and its caused by things like drops and vitamins.

Personally, if it were me, i would take a good prenatal, eat plenty of foods high in iron, and allow her to get what she needs from my milk, and baby foods high in iron.

but you'll have to decide whats best for the two of you.

Atleast go see another doctor about it.

Answer 3

http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/vitamins/iron.html

a few highlights from this link:
**Another cause of anemia is lead poisoning**

Foods that are high in iron include:
-breastmilk
-winter squash
-sweet potatoes
-prune juice
-meat & poultry (beef, beef & chicken liver, turkey, chicken)
-mushrooms
-sea vegetables (arame, dulse), algaes (spirulina), kelp
-greens (spinach, chard, dandelion, beet, nettle, parsley, watercress)
-yellow dock root
-grains (millet, brown rice, amaranth, quinoa, breads with these grains)
-blackstrap molasses (try adding a little to cereal or rice)
-brewer's yeast

**Here's a combination to try -- Cook brown rice (put in the blender if baby needs a smoother texture) and mix it with stewed iron-containing fruits (apricots, prunes, etc). You can even add a touch of blackstrap molasses for extra flavor and extra iron.**

Answer 4

be careful w/ iron drops.

one of my friends has a little sister and they gave her them to many times a day,

now her teeth are falling out and they can ruin their gums.

wipe her gums off before and after.

Answer 5

An iron enriched baby cereal will be safer and less upsetting for your baby's tummy.

Answer 6

im anemic, just found out after i lost my twins. well my iron pills make me feel sick and kinda constipated. so i have to take alot of vitaman c with them, so try fruit juices.. work for me

Answer 7

CAll your pediatrician - it's way too much poo and she could easily become dehydrated. She should also get a prescription for the nausea so she can eat.