Hi Linda Pohl:
When to feed babies solids has always been an interesting topic to me, b/c
of babies who don't want to eat until they're older (6-15 months old).  I
worry about iron deficiency anemia, b/c I was taught in my residency that
babies outgrow the iron available to them in mother's milk.  I encourage
moms in my practice to definitely try to get their babies to take a little
cereal off of a spoon by 6 months, but occasionally there is a baby who will
have none of it.  In my practice, I check for anemia with a hemoglobin test
at 9 months old.  This is an indirect measurement of iron stores in the
body.  My cut-off is also 10.5, b/c that is the number I was taught to use.
When the author describes children in this table, he says they are well
nourished, but does not say if they were/are breastfed.  So we may well have
a bias here.  There certainly are going to be some children below the magic
number of 10.5 who are normal and will be smart.  OF course, that is the
threat we hold over our patients' heads: if you don't give your baby this
iron or this cereal, s/he may lose IQ points and may not be as intelligent.
Let's not forget how biased the IQ test is either, or that these hemoglobin
levels are based on white children.  I really think the best answer to your
question is that someone needs to do a study on this topic.
Second topic:  that mom's pediatrician needs to do a little reading.  Then
s/he will find that this is most likely a benign condition, as long as their
is no pubic hair or progression.  As usual, mom's instincts are right.
Sincerely, Terry


Terry Lynn Dise, MD
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