The randomized, prospective trial, carried out on around 80 South African mothers, was designed to find out whether iron deficiency anaemia in mothers alters their cognition and behaviour and their interaction with their children.
Almost 24 per cent of pregnant mothers in Europe are thought to have anaemia while in the Americas this figure rises to 53 per cent, according to data from the WHO.
The findings could also be significant for mothers without anaemia but lacking in iron intake. Anaemia tends to be less common in richer than in poorer populations but there are frequent cases of iron deficiency among women - it is still the most common of all nutrient deficiencies.
In the new study, a team from Pennsylvania, the University of Cape Town and the University of North Carolina studied three groups of mothers: non-anaemic controls, anaemic mothers receiving a daily iron supplement (125mg) and anaemic mothers taking a placebo.
Iron treatment resulted in a 25 per cent improvement in previously iron-deficient mothers’ depression and stress scales, report the researchers in this month’s Journal of Nutrition (vol 135, pp267-272).
Anaemic mothers administered placebo did not improve in behavioural measures.
The researchers also found a strong association between iron status variables (hemoglobin, mean corpuscular volume, and transferrin saturation) and cognitive variables (Digit Symbol) as well as behavioural variables such as anxiety, stress, depression.
Bonnie - Very important study. Although, I do not advocate taking iron supplements in this dose without consulting your physician or licensed health professional. Natural Progesterone and magnesium are also crucial substances for treating post-natal depression.
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