Iron deficiency anemia during pregnancy is a significant worldwide health problem, affecting 22% of pregnant women in industrialized countries and 52% in non-industrialized countries. Iron deficiency anemia during pregnancy is associated with increased maternal as well as fetal morbidity, including prematurity, low birth-weight and perinatal and infant loss. Therefore, routine iron supplementation during the second half of pregnancy has been recommended once daily. Others, however, support a selective iron supplementation only for women with iron deficiency anemia, in order to avoid the increased risk of haemoconcentration associated with routine iron supplementation. Unfortunately, compliance to either iron-supplementation programs, especially among pregnant women, is poor, due in part to the side effects associated with these preparations.