Dear all:

Whenever a premie needs additional minerals, I explain it the way that I do for sunlight 
deficiency.  Vitamin D is not a vitamin, its a hormone that we convert on our skin when 
we get sunlight --- we were meant to get it from the sun, not from eating it.  Newborn 
infants were meant to store iron in the last trimester of pregnancy.  If they come out 
early, we are making up for not enough time in utero.  Babies were not meant to be 
ingesting large quantities of iron in the first six months, they were supposed to use their 
stores.  The theory is that because we originated in Africa and spread and some of the 
parasites may have flourished when there was a wealth of iron in the intestinal tract and 
in the blood stream.  So, we need to compensate for infants that have lower iron stores.

Evidence does not support low iron in milk if mom is low in iron unless mother is 
EXTREMELY depleted.  Low iron stores in mom may make here extremely exhausted and 
make it hard to care for her child and perhaps due to that she may struggle to put the 
baby to the breast as often as needed.

Best, Susan Burger

PS.  The tests for anemia for newborns are either relatively inaccurate and imprecise or 
invasive (requiring venous blood).  I tested the HemoCue backwards and forewards for 
large-scale survey work for NGOs and found that there are many ways to get an off 
reading.  I saw many of those type of errors in the pediatrican's office when my son 
would get his finger sticks for his required anemia and lead tests.

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