Healthy babies(age 8-18 months) following a routine blood count, with no anemia or iron
deficiency, will be randomly placed in two groups. Group 1 will receive a 3 months preventive
dose of an iron preparation (Ferripel 3 iron polysaccharide complex). Group 2 will be
followed up as a control group. Following a nutritional questionnair, parents of all babies
will receive instruction regarding appropriate nutrition in the 2nd year of life. A follow-up
blood count will be taken from all participating babies 3 months after recruitment. The study
aims to evaluate effectiveness of iron supplementation in the 2nd year of life. The
hypothesis is that babies who receive iron supplementation in the 2nd year of life are less
likely to develop iron deficiency or anemia.