Canada (Commonwealth Union) – Iron plays an essential role for the red blood cell production containing hemoglobin to transport oxygen. The lack iron could lead to fatigue with low energy and also essential for healthy skin and hair. Pregnant women may require further supplementation of iron than present Health Canada guidelines recommend, after two University of British Columbia (UBC) researchers discovered increased rates of iron deficiency in recent research.
The study looked into iron deficiency common among 60 pregnant women in Metro Vancouver and found that more than 80% of them were likely low on iron in late pregnancy in spite of a daily intake of prenatal supplements that gave 100% of the daily iron recommendation during pregnancy.
The principal investigator of the study, Professor Dr. Crystal Karakochuk from the faculty of land and food explained: “This was much higher than I expected to see, which worries us because a woman who is iron-deficient in pregnancy is at higher risk for having an infant with iron deficiency.”
For pregnant women and infancy, iron plays a significant role in nutrition as it is essential for the optimal growth of the fetus and then the baby.
Kelsey Cochrane who is a a PhD candidate in the faculty of land and food systems and the 1st author of the study, stated that, during the 1st 6 months of their lives, babies depend on iron stores built up during gestation.
Extra iron on top of a prenatal supplement gets regularly recommended for females with iron deficiency, the study discovered that only 41% of persons having reduced iron stores were taking extra iron.
Health Canada presently recommends a supplement with 16-20 mg of supplemental iron for females, in addition to iron obtained from the diet, to fulfil the recommended daily dietary allowance of 27 mg. A large number of prenatal vitamins have roughly 24-27 mg of supplemental iron.
Dr. Karakochuk says “We need to determine how to better identify pregnant women who are at risk and take a more individualistic approach on addressing the issue.”
The study results may indicate that the present guidelines for iron intake levels are low, however iron intake according to each individual may vary. Each person’s iron levels may lean on a variety of factors such as the sort of food consumed, and how the food is consumed as vitamin c can help absorb iron when consuming green leafy foods and tea consumption after meals can reduce iron absorption. Genetic factors and the type of iron consumed may also have an impact.
Dr. Karakochuk says “It’s also very surprising for me that a lot of women – approximately 40 per cent of those who were iron-deficient in the study – were not taking that additional iron.”
As many women hope to fulfil their iron requirements through prenatal multivitamins, both researchers recommended more knowledge when purchasing and consuming popular prenatal gummies.
“We raise caution to pregnant women on the use of prenatal gummies, as they do not contain any iron,” Dr. Karakochuk said. “Many women are not aware that there is no supplemental iron in prenatal gummy formulations.”
Cochrane indicated that many women presumed that the prenatal gummy has all that is required but, its largely not yet possible to put a stable form of iron in gummies, which may not be shown on the front label.
Moving forward, the researchers hope to see further iron-monitoring recommendations in the standard guidelines. They also pointed out the need for further studies into the specific doses, duration and forms of additional iron required during pregnancy so that this is well defined for doctors who make recommendations according to the available information.
