The fact that irondeficiencyanemia frequently develops in pregnancy indicates that the physiologicadaptations are often insufficient to meet the increased requirements.As a result, iron supplementation during pregnancy is a common practice throughout the world (Bothwell, 2000).
The main hazards of routine iron supplements are a high incidence of undesirable side-effects, leading to poor compliance. High doses of iron lead to gastrointestinal intolerance suggesting some toxic effect on the gut mucosa that is probably mediated by iron-related oxidative stress.Recent study have shown that both iron deficiency and daily iron supplements increase lipid peroxidation in rats, and studies are being conducted to document similar effects in humans (Knutson et al., 2000).
Large doses of iron are also associated with a reduction in the absorption of other elements, such as zinc (Solonomos et al., 1983). Study in humans indicates that administration of oral iron impairs the absorption of a subsequent iron dose (O'Neil-Cutting et al., 1987).
These results have motivated a few experimental studies that have searched for alternative efficacious iron supplementation schemes that will minimize undesirable side-effect (Beard, 2000).
In the rat model, administration of iron supplements is synchrony with gut mucosal turnover rates (every 3 days) have been shown to be equally effective at correcting iron deficiency anemia (IDA) as daily supplementation. Furthermore, intermittent supplementation reduces the constant gut mucosal iron load that accompanies daily supplementation and improves the efficiency of iron absorption 2.6-fold (Viteri et al., 1995).
In humans, gut mucosal turnover occurs every 5-6 days.Based on these results, weekly rather than daily administration of iron has been proposed as a safe, efficacious and cost-effective method with which to prevent and alleviate anemia in pregnant women(Casanueva et al., 2006 & Ridwan et al., 1996).
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