Why Your Body Needs Iron

Iron is an essential part of hemoglobin, and hemoglobin is what enables your red blood cells to carry oxygen from your lungs to your brain and other organs and tissues.

The amount of iron needed by the body varies depending on gender and time of life. Small children and adolescents need a lot of iron because they are growing so fast. Teenage girls and women need more iron than men because they menstruate, and pregnant women need about twice as much iron as usual. This additional iron is necessary for the growing fetus and to compensate for any blood loss during delivery.

If you don’t get enough iron to meet your individual needs, you may start to feel tired and weak, and your performance at work or your ability to take good care of yourself and your family may begin to suffer. If you don’t get treatment for iron deficiency, your symptoms may continue to get worse and worse.

How Iron Deficiency Anemia Develops

If you don’t take in enough iron from food to meet your needs, you become iron deficient. When that happens, your body is forced to begin using up your stored iron, and eventually you develop iron deficiency anemia.

The Prevalence of Iron Deficiency Anemia

It’s hard to believe, but in the US more than 6 million women of reproductive age are iron deficient and over 3 million have iron deficiency anemia. Of the approximately 4 million women who give birth each year, about 2 million become iron deficient, and more than 1 million end up suffering from postpartum (after delivery) anemia.

If you think you may be anemic, check out the “Could I Be Anemic?” Questionnaire, and share your results with your healthcare professional.