Understand the question and the situation
Rephrase and understand the stem
- This is a patient education situation.
- We are being asked a question by a parent.
- The question is about the proper diet of a 6-month-old, breastfeeding infant.
The task is to identify the diet advice from the options given that, if the parent follows it, will ensure the baby receives sufficient iron.
Recall what you know about breastfeeding and infant iron levels
- At six months old, infants can start to have soft foods outside of breast milk.
- Babies begin to store iron during their last 3 months in utero.
- At around six months, the infant has used up their stored iron. Since breast milk has a very low amount of bioavailable iron, they now need to add another source of iron in their diet.
Go through the answer options and eliminate the incorrect ones
Tip: Use your scratch paper to note down your thoughts about each answer choice!
A. “Continue to breastfeed exclusively; it is the best thing for your baby.”
While it is correct to say breastfeeding is great for infants, this answer says to continue breastfeeding exclusively. The question is about iron and at six months the baby will have used up their reserves and needs an additional source of iron, so this is incorrect. This advice will not ensure the baby has adequate iron intake. This answer can be eliminated.
B. “At this point, you can supplement breastfeeding with iron-rich baby foods.”
This answer can be kept in, knowing that at six months, it is possible to supplement with iron-rich, soft foods.
C. “At this age, you can switch your baby to cows’ milk, which is richer in iron.”
Cows’ milk is not rich in iron, so this is not going to address helping the infant meet their dietary iron requirements. This answer can be eliminated.
D. “Eat more iron-rich foods so your baby will get more iron through your breast milk.”
The underlying assumption of this answer choice is incorrect. Iron that is eaten by the mother is absorbed by her body, not transferred to the baby via breastfeeding, so this is not going to help the infant’s iron levels. This answer can be eliminated.
Look at the remaining answer(s) and make sure
Answer B, “At this point, you can supplement breastfeeding with iron-rich baby foods.”, is the only answer we did not eliminate already, so is left over as our correct answer.
This makes sense: It is true that an additional iron source is needed, and supplementing with soft foods at six months is correct to be recommended.
