Iron-deficiency anemia
Iron-deficiency anemia fact sheet (PDF, 111 KB)
Iron-deficiency anemia fact sheet (PDF, 111 KB)
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Iron-deficiency anemia means that your body does not have enough iron. Your body needs iron to help carry oxygen through your blood to all parts of your body. Iron-deficiency anemia affects more women than men and is more common during pregnancy.
Iron-deficiency anemia is the most common type of anemia, a condition that happens when your body does not make enough healthy red blood cells or the blood cells do not work correctly.
Iron-deficiency anemia happens when you don’t have enough iron in your body. Your body needs iron to make hemoglobin, the part of the red blood cell that carries oxygen through your blood to all parts of your body.
Iron-deficiency anemia affects more women than men. The risk of iron-deficiency anemia is highest for women who:
Infants, small children, and teens are also at high risk for iron-deficiency anemia. Learn how much iron children need at different ages.
Iron-deficiency anemia often develops slowly. In the beginning, you may not have any symptoms, or they may be mild. As it gets worse, you may notice one or more of these symptoms:3
If you think you may have iron-deficiency anemia, talk to your doctor or nurse.
Women can have low iron levels for several reasons:
Talk to your doctor if you think you might have iron-deficiency anemia. Your doctor may:
If you have iron-deficiency anemia, your doctor may want to do other tests to find out what is causing it.
Maybe. Talk to your doctor about getting tested as part of your regular health exam if you have heavy menstrual periods or a health problem such as Crohn's disease or celiac disease.
Treatment for iron-deficiency anemia depends on the cause:
If you have severe bleeding or symptoms of chest pain or shortness of breath, your doctor may recommend iron or red blood cell transfusions. Transfusions are for severe iron deficiencies only and are much less common.
Your doctor may recommend iron pills to help build up your iron levels. Do not take these pills without talking to your doctor or nurse first. Taking iron pills can cause side effects, including an upset stomach, constipation, and diarrhea. If taken as a liquid, iron supplements may stain your teeth.
You can reduce side effects from iron pills by taking these steps:
If left untreated, iron-deficiency anemia can cause serious health problems. Having too little oxygen in the body can damage organs. With anemia, the heart must work harder to make up for the lack of red blood cells or hemoglobin. This extra work can harm the heart.
Iron-deficiency anemia can also cause problems during pregnancy.
You can help prevent iron-deficiency anemia with the following steps:
The chart below lists how much iron you need every day. The recommended amounts are listed in milligrams (mg). See a list of good sources of iron.
Age |
Women |
Pregnant women |
Breastfeeding women |
Vegetarian women* |
---|---|---|---|---|
14–18 years |
15 mg |
27 mg |
10 mg |
27 mg |
19–50 years |
18 mg |
27 mg |
9 mg |
32 mg |
51+ years |
8 mg |
n/a |
n/a |
14 mg |
Source: Adapted from Institute of Medicine, Food and Nutrition Board6
*Vegetarians need more iron from food than people who eat meat do. This is because the body can absorb iron from meat better than from plant-based foods.
Food sources of iron include:
Yes. During pregnancy, your body needs more iron to support your growing baby. In fact, pregnant women need almost twice as much iron as women who are not pregnant do. Not getting enough iron during pregnancy raises your risk for premature birth or a low-birth-weight baby (less than 5 ½ pounds). Premature birth is the most common cause of infant death. Both premature birth and low birth weight raise your baby's risk for health and developmental problems at birth and during childhood.
If you're pregnant, talk to your doctor about these steps:
No, you do not need more iron during breastfeeding. In fact, you need less iron than before you were pregnant. The amount of iron women need during breastfeeding is 10 milligrams per day for young mothers 14 to 18 and 9 milligrams per day for breastfeeding women older than 18.
You need less iron while breastfeeding because you likely will not lose a lot through your menstrual cycle. Many breastfeeding women do not have a period or may have only a light period. Also, if you got enough iron during pregnancy (27 milligrams a day), your breastmilk will supply enough iron for your baby.
It might. If you still get your period and take menopausal hormone therapy, you may need more iron than women who are postmenopausal and do not take menopausal hormone therapy. Talk to your doctor or nurse.
It could. Hormonal birth control, such as the pill, the patch, the shot, or the hormonal intrauterine device (IUD), is often used to treat women with heavy menstrual periods. Lighter menstrual periods may reduce your risk for iron-deficiency anemia.
Also, the non-hormonal, copper IUD (Paragard) may make your menstrual flow heavier. This raises your risk for iron-deficiency anemia.
Talk to your doctor or nurse about your risk for anemia and whether hormonal birth control may help.
You can help make sure you get enough iron by choosing foods that contain iron more often. Vegetarians need more iron from food than people who eat meat. This is because the body can absorb iron from meat better than from plant-based foods.
Vegetarian sources of iron include:8
Talk to your doctor or nurse about whether you get enough iron. Most people get enough iron from food.
Yes, your body can get too much iron. Extra iron can damage the liver, heart, and pancreas. Try to get no more than 45 milligrams of iron a day, unless your doctor prescribes more.
Some people get too much iron because of a condition called hemochromatosis that runs in families. Learn more about hemochromatosis, who is at risk, and how it is treated.
You can also get too much iron from iron pills (if you also get iron from food) or from repeated blood transfusions.
For more information about iron-deficiency anemia, call the OWH Helpline at 1-800-994-9662 or contact the following organizations:
Iron-deficiency anemia fact sheet (PDF, 111 KB)
Enter a city, ZIP code (such as 20002), address, state, or place
To receive Publications email updates
The Office on Women's Health is grateful for the medical review in 2016 by:
Harvey Luksenburg, M.D., Special Advisor to the Director, Division of Blood Diseases and Resources, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health
Deepa Sekhar, M.D., Hematologist, Assistant Professor, College of Medicine, Penn State University
Cheryl Garrison, Certified Iron Educator for Iron-Out-of-Balance™, Executive Director, Iron Disorders Institute
All material contained on these pages are free of copyright restrictions and may be copied, reproduced, or duplicated without permission of the Office on Women’s Health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Citation of the source is appreciated.
Page last updated: April 01, 2019.
Iron-deficiency anemia means that your body does not have enough iron. Your body needs iron to help carry oxygen through your blood to all parts of your body. Iron-deficiency anemia affects more women than men and is more common during pregnancy.
Iron-deficiency anemia is the most common type of anemia, a condition that happens when your body does not make enough healthy red blood cells or the blood cells do not work correctly.
Iron-deficiency anemia happens when you don’t have enough iron in your body. Your body needs iron to make hemoglobin, the part of the red blood cell that carries oxygen through your blood to all parts of your body.
Iron-deficiency anemia affects more women than men. The risk of iron-deficiency anemia is highest for women who:
Infants, small children, and teens are also at high risk for iron-deficiency anemia. Learn how much iron children need at different ages.
Iron-deficiency anemia often develops slowly. In the beginning, you may not have any symptoms, or they may be mild. As it gets worse, you may notice one or more of these symptoms:3
If you think you may have iron-deficiency anemia, talk to your doctor or nurse.
Women can have low iron levels for several reasons:
Talk to your doctor if you think you might have iron-deficiency anemia. Your doctor may:
If you have iron-deficiency anemia, your doctor may want to do other tests to find out what is causing it.
Maybe. Talk to your doctor about getting tested as part of your regular health exam if you have heavy menstrual periods or a health problem such as Crohn's disease or celiac disease.
Treatment for iron-deficiency anemia depends on the cause:
If you have severe bleeding or symptoms of chest pain or shortness of breath, your doctor may recommend iron or red blood cell transfusions. Transfusions are for severe iron deficiencies only and are much less common.
Your doctor may recommend iron pills to help build up your iron levels. Do not take these pills without talking to your doctor or nurse first. Taking iron pills can cause side effects, including an upset stomach, constipation, and diarrhea. If taken as a liquid, iron supplements may stain your teeth.
You can reduce side effects from iron pills by taking these steps:
If left untreated, iron-deficiency anemia can cause serious health problems. Having too little oxygen in the body can damage organs. With anemia, the heart must work harder to make up for the lack of red blood cells or hemoglobin. This extra work can harm the heart.
Iron-deficiency anemia can also cause problems during pregnancy.
You can help prevent iron-deficiency anemia with the following steps:
The chart below lists how much iron you need every day. The recommended amounts are listed in milligrams (mg). See a list of good sources of iron.
Age |
Women |
Pregnant women |
Breastfeeding women |
Vegetarian women* |
---|---|---|---|---|
14–18 years |
15 mg |
27 mg |
10 mg |
27 mg |
19–50 years |
18 mg |
27 mg |
9 mg |
32 mg |
51+ years |
8 mg |
n/a |
n/a |
14 mg |
Source: Adapted from Institute of Medicine, Food and Nutrition Board6
*Vegetarians need more iron from food than people who eat meat do. This is because the body can absorb iron from meat better than from plant-based foods.
Food sources of iron include:
Yes. During pregnancy, your body needs more iron to support your growing baby. In fact, pregnant women need almost twice as much iron as women who are not pregnant do. Not getting enough iron during pregnancy raises your risk for premature birth or a low-birth-weight baby (less than 5 ½ pounds). Premature birth is the most common cause of infant death. Both premature birth and low birth weight raise your baby's risk for health and developmental problems at birth and during childhood.
If you're pregnant, talk to your doctor about these steps:
No, you do not need more iron during breastfeeding. In fact, you need less iron than before you were pregnant. The amount of iron women need during breastfeeding is 10 milligrams per day for young mothers 14 to 18 and 9 milligrams per day for breastfeeding women older than 18.
You need less iron while breastfeeding because you likely will not lose a lot through your menstrual cycle. Many breastfeeding women do not have a period or may have only a light period. Also, if you got enough iron during pregnancy (27 milligrams a day), your breastmilk will supply enough iron for your baby.
It might. If you still get your period and take menopausal hormone therapy, you may need more iron than women who are postmenopausal and do not take menopausal hormone therapy. Talk to your doctor or nurse.
It could. Hormonal birth control, such as the pill, the patch, the shot, or the hormonal intrauterine device (IUD), is often used to treat women with heavy menstrual periods. Lighter menstrual periods may reduce your risk for iron-deficiency anemia.
Also, the non-hormonal, copper IUD (Paragard) may make your menstrual flow heavier. This raises your risk for iron-deficiency anemia.
Talk to your doctor or nurse about your risk for anemia and whether hormonal birth control may help.
You can help make sure you get enough iron by choosing foods that contain iron more often. Vegetarians need more iron from food than people who eat meat. This is because the body can absorb iron from meat better than from plant-based foods.
Vegetarian sources of iron include:8
Talk to your doctor or nurse about whether you get enough iron. Most people get enough iron from food.
Yes, your body can get too much iron. Extra iron can damage the liver, heart, and pancreas. Try to get no more than 45 milligrams of iron a day, unless your doctor prescribes more.
Some people get too much iron because of a condition called hemochromatosis that runs in families. Learn more about hemochromatosis, who is at risk, and how it is treated.
You can also get too much iron from iron pills (if you also get iron from food) or from repeated blood transfusions.
For more information about iron-deficiency anemia, call the OWH Helpline at 1-800-994-9662 or contact the following organizations:
This content is provided by the Office on Women's Health.
A federal government website managed by the Office on Women's Health in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
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1-800-994-9662 • Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET (closed on federal holidays).