Pam mentioned that doctors are still insisting on giving iron supplements to
bfg infants.

>now have two moms .... who have physicians who are insistent on iron
>supplementation from birth (and who recommends iron in formula as
>well)..as well as vitamins....indicating this as a mandatory nutritional
>standard of care.  I have done a brief search and I need to go more
>indepth..but so far I have not come across a change in research...

I have an article on a study that examined specifically and is titled: IRON
STATUS IN BREATS-FED INFANTS.  Authors: Alfredo Pisacane, Basilio De Vizia et
al.  In J of Pediatrics 1995;127:429-31  Perhaps these doctors need to see it
to help them realize that there are babies who exclusively nurse for 7 months
and that their iron status is fine.  That these docs are part of the problem
because they are advising in an area where they have little to no expertise.

Here is the abstract:  Iron status of 30 infants who had been breast fed
until their first birthday and who had never received cow milk, medicinal
iron, or iron-enriched formula and cereals was investgated; 30% were anemic
at 12 months of age.  The duration of exclusive breastfeeding was
significantly longer among nonanemic infants (6.5 vs 5.5 months).  *****None
of the infnats who were exclusively breast fed for 7 months or more and 43%
of those who were fed for a shorter time were anemic. *****  Infants who were
exclusively breast fed for a prolonged period had a good iron status at 12
and 24 months.

Mardrey Swenson