Intestinal Heph is necessary for optimal iron absorption and iron delivery to the developing fetuses during pregnancy. Iron absorption and utilization were assessed in pregnant mice. Nonpregnant females of a similar age were used as controls. Hb levels were measured at euthanization (A). Iron absorption (B), tissue utilization (D-F), and delivery to the fetuses (G) were also quantified. Data are presented as means ± SD and were analyzed by Student unpaired t test (**P < .01; ***P < .001). The number of mice in each group is indicated beneath panel A and is the same for all data shown in panels B-G. Moreover, enterocyte FOX (H) and serum Cp (I) activities were assessed in pregnant and nonpregnant mice. Data are presented as box-and-whisker plots and were analyzed by 2-way ANOVA. For enterocyte FOX activity, a genotype main effect (P < .0001) and a 2-way pregnancy × genotype interaction (P = .0326) were noted. For serum Cp activity, pregnancy (P < .0001) and genotype (P = .0005) main effects were noted as well as a significant 2-way pregnancy × genotype interaction (P = .0061). When significant 2-way interactions were noted, multiple pairwise comparisons were made by Tukey's HSD post-hoc test; letters atop bars indicate statistically significant differences (P < .05). Also, note that enterocyte FOX and serum Cp data from nonpregnant female animals are also presented in numerical form in Table 1, but all assays were done simultaneously in pregnant and nonpregnant mice of both genotypes. The number of mice in each group is shown in parentheses below panels H and I.