Iron Issues in Pregnancy

I had to take Ferrous Sulfate (prescription Iron) when I was pregnant the second time after my blood work came back borderline anemic. I took them every couple of days because the side effects stunk (constipation, nausea and upset stomach). Eventually I opted to eat my iron and it was never a problem after.

I have low iron, and have experienced it not going up even though I am taking iron. Although I am not pregnant. BUT, I found out that unless you take vitamin C with the Iron your body cannot absorb it. Unfortunately the doctors don't seem to know this. Again, I am not pregnant and don't know anything about your situation, I just thought it might help. Also, since I started taking vitamin C with my iron, my iron went up.

You might have a condition where your iron reads low but you are not low at all. Betathalasemia is one. I know several that have this. Another option is you might be bleeding internally somewhere and losing blood. I am sure that there are a few other reasons but the hemo dr can decide what to do. Take pregnancy yoga to put good calming hormones in your body instead of stress hormones. This is the most important thing to do during pregnancy because mother stress is the biggest factor in developmental delays and disorders in the young child. Breathe......I am sure this is not that serious. With all the monitoring they are going to want to do, no more then two sonograms. Repeated ultrasounds destroy baby's auditory processing. You are the mother and you decide. Good luck.

The Hematologist will take some blood and run some tests to try to find out what is causing your low iron. Also start eating foods that are high in iron at least 3 times a day. It will help increase your iron. I had low iron at the beginning of my pregnancy with my first daughter. They had me eating anything and everything with iron. But there are also foods your supposed to avoid that will keep the iron from remaining in your system. I don't remember what they were but am sure you could look it up. Have your thyroid checked. The Hematologist should do this but remind them. Some doctors don't even think of your thyroid. Do not drink any alcohol, soda, eat sweats of any form. My niece went through the low iron with both babies but she has been iron deficient her entire life. She said to tell you when you eat junk food it destroys what iron you do have in your body. She can't eat any of the stuff that most people eat. Good Luck!

You'll probably get your answer at the hematologist, but you could also include pigeon peas (gandules) and chick peas (garbanzos) to help rise your iron. IF you like liver, it also helps. Good luck with your pregnancy.

HI C.,

All supplements are not alike. Some things don't absorb the way they should. What kind of prenatal are you on? If you're interested in a prenatal that is guaranteed to absorb get back to me. I can send you some information on it and comparisons to others.

The hematologist is going to take more blood and probably put you on another iron supplement or even meds to help. Research everything before you take it. Doctors are not chemists. They rely on the same paperwork that you can read in the inserts and on what the pharmaceutical reps tell them.

God bless and congratulations on your little one!

M.

Most likely in the hematologist, they are going to prick you again for blood sampling. I'm not sure how far they've done for you at obgyn, but there are many causes of blood disorders, and some are idiopathic (it simply means doctors just don't know yet and it makes them feel pathetic haha).

The simple blood test they usually run that tells u the number or level of hemoglobin (not iron as you mention). But they may want to repeat a blood sample not just for numbers, but also to see the picture, what we call Full Blood Picture, to actually see how this hemoglobin, and also other types of blood cells look like. It can identify if the problem is actually from insufficient amount of certain dietary problems like iron or folate or vitamin B12. Or it also can identify and give clues to other things like hereditary problem such as thalassaemia trait or what not.

They may also send a level for total iron, total iron binding capacity, folate level and B12 level. To see if it's actually enough in the body and the real cause of low hemoglobin.

Iron tablets or any other form of iron helps increase your hemoglobin...usually. Most cases of low hemoglobin is due to reduction of dietary need to make hemoglobin during pregnancy. It used to be due to frequent close timing between pregnancies, but in these day of age, not so much.

Some cases, low hemoglobin it may be due to loosing small amount of blood constantly like from peptic ulcer disease or even worms.

I'm sorry if this is too much info for you but it's really is a big spectrum. What I want to tell you is that your obgyn has identified the problem, and a hematologist will help you on determining the cause. My advice is continue on the iron tablet, the good eating habit that you already on.

Do tell the doctor if you feel even lethargic, notice your legs swollen than ever and subsides when you put it up. You are not alone...I just met one less than 2/52 ago in my ward, she came with palpitation, giddiness and syncope. Oh, don't let them forget about your heart, because you did say you have palpitations.

I hope this helps a bit. I don't think I helped much in making you feel better though.

Hi,

Try Floradix, it's a liquid iron supplement that is much more usable by the body than other types like ferrous sulfate (the usual OTC iron supplement). You can also eat teff (a type of flour) as it's super-high in iron. A health food store will have it.

I had very low iron with both pregnancies. Within days of conceiving my second, I was faint and didn't know why. Took iron and voila! Back to normal. I had to take megadoses of iron during both pregnancies... with the first it was like 2000% of daily recommended. Somehow I never overdosed but it was huge quantities of iron.

Best of luck!

I dont know specifically about this, but my husband has a high iron disorder, and extra vitamin C will help the body absorb iron better, especially grapefruit.

You need to maximize the iron absorption, so make sure you drink OJ when you take your pills. Do it in between meals as well, as spinach, for instance, will inhibit iron absorption!

I had low iron with both of my pregnancies, but was able to get it up high with pills. I also ate a lot of sunflowers and nuts.

C.,

I can't speak from experience- BUT- I can give you some info just by being in the medical field. The hematologist- will basically look at your blood. In general when someone is anemic it is due to 1. not enough iron- you are taking enough, but your body may not be absorbing or processing it correctly, 2. your body may be destroying your red blood cells, 3. you can be losing blood some other way (parasite, blood loss in stool etc), 4. your bone marrow may not be producing red blood cells, 5. if there is an infection some where- some times they are hard to detect- the body will make the iron unavailabe for the infectious organism- the draw back is that it is unavailable to the body too. 6. Kidney issues can cause anemia- the kidneys produce erythropoetin, which is the hormone that tells the bone marrow to produce red blood cells.

Increasing your B-vitamins may help as well. they are important for the body to take the iron & make hemoglobin. My mom took a product call Nu-iron for a while- which is iron in a different form.

This by no means a comprehensive list & probably more than you wanted to know.

With your anemia- & c- section just be prepared for a blood transfusion.

Good luck to you & your baby. May God be with you & your family. Please update us on the outcome