When to start supplementary iron to prevent iron deficiency in early childhood in sub-Saharan Africa setting.

Background: To study the efficacy of oral ferrous fumarate, an inexpensive, readily available preparation on iron deficiency in infants in Africa.

Procedure: Four months old (group 1, n = 252) and 6-18 months old (group 2, n = 360) healthy infants attending four primary health care centers (PHC) for vaccination/well-child visits in Benin were studied. Ninety-six pregnant women (PW) over 36 weeks gestational age attending the same PHC during the study period were also studied.