Iron supplementation during pregnancy - a cross-sectional study undertaken in four German states.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Iron deficiency but also iron overload during pregnancy has been associated with unwanted health effects. In Germany, iron supplements are only recommended for pregnant women with diagnosed iron deficiency/anaemia. Prevalence of anaemia among pregnant women was reported at 24.4% in 2011. However, limited data suggest that more than 60% of women in Germany use iron supplements during gestation. Against this background, we investigated the prevalence of iron supplement intake among pregnant women and explored determining factors in order to assess whether women are following the advice to only supplement iron in case of a diagnosed iron deficiency/anaemia.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was carried out in four German states in 2015 where, with the help of midwives,

SUBMITTER: Demuth IR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6293639 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature