Iron needs during rapid growth and mental development.

Growth and behavioral development during infancy is highly dependent on a bioavailable source of dietary iron. This brief review examines the extent of iron deficiency anemia in the United States in the late 1980s, the daily dietary intake of iron, and the impact of iron deficiency on growth and on mental and psychomotor development. It is incumbent on physicians and other health care professionals caring for infants to direct infant feeding toward the prevention of nutritional iron deficiency.