Q. I have a 2 month old girl and at the last check-up, the doctor told me she is pale. She took a blood sample - Hb = 11.3g/dl and gave me a prescription with ferrum and vitamin C. I don't know if I should give it her or not. As far as I know the ferrum is aggresive for their stomach and I really don't know if this Hb value is low. I read that this is the newborn anemia which begins at 2 months of age. Please, give me a piece of advice. Annamaria, Bucharest, Romania
A.
That would usually be considered a normal hemoglobin and not a sign of anemia at this age, so I am not sure why your Pediatrician prescribed an iron supplement.
You are right that newborns generally begin to have lower levels of hemoglobin at this age and it sometimes requires treatment, but it isn't clear from the information you have provided why that would be the case with your baby.
At this point, instead of simply ignoring your Pediatrician's advice, you might ask again why she recommended that your daughter take extra iron, especially if you are breastfeeding or feeding her an iron fortified formula.
Some reasons that your baby might still be prescribed iron, even without being anemic, include that:
- you are breastfeeding and have iron deficiency yourself
- your baby is drinking a low iron baby formula
- iron deficiency is so common in your area that all babies are routinely started on iron as a precaution