Peggy Ventura asked about why breast milk is deficient in iron, but this is not hoow I 
interpret the evidence at all.  The scientific evidence to exclusively breastfeed for 6 
months is basedc on most babies not needing anything but breast milk until six months.  
Many, but not all infants need to start some solids around six months.  The first need is 
for iron and zinc.  Full term infants really do not need much iron at all until six months 
because they store a lot in utero.  Premies do not have as long a storage time frame.  
The explanation that makes most sense to me was proposed by Kay Dewey.  In our 
preagricultural days we were eating what we could gather and hunt.  Any meat that we 
ate was not corn fed so the fatty acid ratios were very different from most of the meat 
we have available now.  We were probably chewing up the random bits of meat every 
now and again and stuffing it into our babies mouths.  And this is what prevented iron 
deficiency anemia long ago. Not some artificial hard to absorb substitute.

Some infants may be fine waiting to start solids until later than six months.  The 
challenge is that the tests to really assess iron status (as opposed to anemia which occurs 
after cognitive development may have been delayed due to iron deficiency) are invasive.  
The tests for iron deficiency anemia such as the Hemocue are not terrific at diagnosing 
anemia.  By the time anemia has occurred the deficiency has been there for a while.  So, 
its a tough dilemma because there will always be infants that don't need it and do fine but 
you don't know which ones unless there is a problem.  

Certainly, I would NEVER give formula to solve an iron deciency problem.

Best, Susan Burger

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