deficiency during pregnancy, the beneficial effects of
general iron supplementation on pregnancy outcomes
are a controversial issue [3,4].
Until the past 10 years or so, the risk of iron deficiency
in Korean pregnant women was high with a prevalence
of ~20% [5,6] and a number of reports are available on
inverse association between maternal iron status and
pregnancy outcomes [7-10]. Recently, there has been an
increasing concern that pregnant women in Korea might
be consuming excessive iron from supplements without
considering their dietary iron intake or iron status. A recent
survey has reported that 30 – 40% of Korean