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Hemoglobin Values in the First Six Months of Life in Exclusively Breastfed Children

Objective: The inexistence of 
publications on hemoglobin values in the first six months of life gave us the 
objective of describing these values, month by month in healthy, iron 
sufficient exclusively breastfed infants. Methods: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study in 
306 infants stratified according to age from one to six months, full-term 
births, weighing ≥2500 g, without 
intercurrences at birth, serum ferritin levels ≥10 ng/mL, followed by the public health service encouraging and supporting exclusive breastfeeding. An automated counter was used for 
measuring hemoglobin, and serum ferritin was determined using immunoenzymatic method. Student’s t-test was used to analyze differences between means, and Mann-Whitney test when 
distribution was non-normal. Level of statistical significance was p 0.05. Results: The hemoglobin values, according to gender, did 
not differ statistically in the different months; the results are presented without sample 
division according to gender. Hemoglobin means and standard deviations in g/dL 
were: 11.7(±1.6), 10.7(±1.5), 10.8(±1.3), 11.6(±1.5), 11.7(±1.7), and 
11.8(±1.6), from the first to sixth month respectively. Conclusion: The 
hemoglobin values obtained in all the first six months of life, based on a 
healthy, exclusively breastfed infant population, may contribute to the 
reassessment of reference levels for the diagnosis of anemia in the studied age 
range.