These benefits on postpartum maternal iron status may be especially important when interpregnancy intervals are short because the supplemented mother will enter a subsequent pregnancy with better iron status. In addition, many women are anemic in the postpartum period because of blood loss during delivery. Although a similar benefit could be obtained if women were supplemented during lactation, pregnancy is a time when iron absorption is particularly efficient and when there is usually more opportunity to provide, encourage, and monitor the use of supplements. Insufficient attention has been paid to the extent to which anemia affects the mother’s quality of life, including her level of fatigue and ability to cope with the stress of pregnancy and a young infant. Such outcomes should be assessed in future studies.