Suplementación con hierro en dosis única semanal a mujeres embarazadas, de Morelos, México

Introduction: Iron Deficit is the most frequent nutritional deficiency m the world, affecting primarily children and women of fertile age especially pregnant women. Many strategies have been implemented to try to combat this problem, however the problem persists. One alternative is the use of intermittent supplementation programs, which although controversial, has produced positive results. Objective: To assess the usefulness of iron supplementation in the form of a single weekly dose in pregnant women. Material and methods: Two different iron supplementation schemes were used on a total of 107 pregnant women -a single, weekly dose and a daily dose- and the level of hemoglobin in their blood was compared. Assessments of hemoglobin level were carried out at the start and end of the study. Results: The final level of hemoglobin (after ten weeks of supplementation) in the total number of pregnant women was similar to the basal one (P > 0.05) except in the case of the anemic members of the group (n = 20) who showed a statistically significant increase (P < 0.05) in the final level of hemoglobin (from 102.9 to 116.5 g/l Hb on average). The differences between the groups of supplementation were not significant (P > 0.05). Conclusions: The response was similar in the two study groups: the single, weekly dose of iron supplementation was as effective as the daily one in the prevention and correction of this deficiency in pregnant women.