1. Introduction
Anemia affects over 2 billion people and the World
Health Organization (WHO) estimates that half of these
cases are due to iron deficiency [1–3]. A disproportionate
percentage of anemia and iron deficiency cases occur in
low income countries [4,5], accompanied by adverse
pregnancy outcomes such as preterm birth, low birth
weight, and increased maternal mortality [6–11].
Although these adverse events exact a heavy toll in
terms of ill-health and premature death, iron deficiency
and anemia remain endemic, and global prevalence has
declined little