Background:

Iron deficiency and anemia affect a considerable percentage of breastfeeding children and can have damaging effects on growth and development. Objective: Present recent advances related to breastfeeding and formula feeding against the risk of iron deficiency and global recommendations on the age of introduction of foods that are good sources of iron.

Materials and Methods:

A narrative literature review was performed in medical literature databases using MeSH terms in English and health descriptors DeCS in Spanish. Terms were related with type of diet, presence of anemia or iron deficiency, and growth. Both articles written in Spanish and English were considered.

Results:

To make the decision as to whether it is adequate to begin complementary feeding at four or six months while maintaining iron status, it is proposed to consider factors such as iron stores, birth experience, infant development, and others. In starting complementary feeding it’s important to incorporate foods that are good sources of iron.

Conclusions:

Adequate feeding practices that include breastfeeding until 24 months and the introduction of foods that are sources of iron starting at six months likely reduce iron deficiency and anemia in children less than 24 months of age.

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