Deborah, age 24, is a Caucasian woman who is attending her first prenatal appointment with the clinic obstetrician. Deborah is single and employed in a minimum-wage job with limited financial resources. She resides with her mother. In the first month of her pregnancy, Deborah has experienced mild nausea but no vomiting, and has had a ravenous appetite. Because she works as a waitress, she has

Question

access to balanced meals at breakfast and lunch, whereas at home she and her mother primarily eat ready-to-eat dinners, and occasionally make a home-cooked meal. She is a well-appearing, normal-weight woman with no known medical conditions. She is taking no medications except for an over-the-counter prenatal vitamin-mineral supplement, which she began on her own the day she administered her pregnancy self-test two weeks ago. She does not smoke or drink alcohol. Because she does not own a car, she walks about four miles a day; however, she has been very tired and may need to decrease the number of shifts she works at the restaurant if that continues.
Which of the following is an iron deficiency risk factor for Deborah?

a. her ethnicity
b. her age
c. her limited financial means
d. her usual eating style

Answer 1

c