Iron supplementation in pregnancy: General practitioners' compliance with official recommendations

Abstract

Objective: To compare general practitioners' routines regarding iron supplementation in pregnancy with national recommendations.

Design: Mailed questionnaire to general practitioners.

Setting: A county in western Norway.

Subjects: 184 general practitioners.

Main outcome measures: Descriptive registration of reported routines regarding assessment and supplementation of iron.

Results: 11% of general practitioners reported complete adherence to the national programme recommending iron supplements for everyone in the second half of pregnancy and use of s-ferritin estimation if Hb falls below 11 g/dl. 36% of the doctors prescribed iron supplements routinely irrespective of iron status. 87% reported use of s-ferritin estimation in antenatal care; usually on indication of low Hb, almost 20% as a routine screening in all pregnancies. Conclusion: General practitioners' compliance with national recommendations for iron supplementation in pregnancy is very low and probably reveals a need both for a review of the national recommendations and for an approach to increase compliance with given standards.

Key Words:

• iron supplementation
• pregnancy
• s-ferritin
• haemoglobin
• general practice