>Then the statement: Different infant diets are associated with varying risks
>for developing iron deficiency.  Infants consuming whole cow's
>milk/non-fortified formula have a 30-40% risk, infants exclusively breastfed
>have a 20% risk, and those consuming iron-fortified formulas have only 8%
>risk.

Your table doesn't show up well on my email window, Camille, so I can't
comment on the figures it reveals, but the statement could well make sense,
if we are talking about *older babies or toddlers* who would normally be
taking solid foods as well as breast milk.

 A baby aged (for example) 12 months or more and *still exclusively
breastfed* may well be at a higher risk of iron deficiency than a baby of
the same age who is *exclusively formula fed*. At 12 months, babies
normally need more than breast milk, and the answer to the 'problem' of an
iron-deficient 12 month old would *not* be to wean to any other form of
milk, but to add iron-containing solid foods to the diet, and to stick with
breast milk.

In the UK babies are *not* checked for iron until there are clinical signs
of deficiency or until the diet gives cause for concern. They are not
routinely checked.  Babies of 12 months who are taking no solids at all
would probably be tested - and I would think that's a sensible thing to do.

IOt is really unpleasant to feel oneself under attack - no wonder you felt
vulnerable.

Heather Welford Neil
NCT bfc Newcastle upon Tyne UK

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