I'm 38 weeks pregnant today, and I just got a call from my midwife saying that I am VERY anemic - both ferritin and hemoglobin levels are really low.
She put me on a heavy duty supplement, but is also requesting that I do a major diet overhaul. With only 2 weeks left til the due date, I'm hoping that I can make enough changes to prevent any complications.
Does anyone have experience with this? Any advice?
persimmon / 1396 posts
I was anemic from 25 weeks on. I took a supplement and ate lots of iron rich food (think red meat).
Mine resolved immediately after birth, so hopefully yours will too
cantaloupe / 6869 posts
I had anemia for unknown reasons just before I got pregnant and have been taking iron supplements for six months now. I think since you only have two weeks left that you should be okay with supplements and a small change in diet. In addition to red meats, spinach, beans, and nuts are also good sources of iron.
GOLD / wonderful pomegranate / 28905 posts
Why weren't you tested earlier? I had blood work done in the middle of my pregnancy where they took like 7 vials of blood. That's when they found out I was borderline anemic.
I would Def take the supplements but if they're already quite high I would be afraid of going too crazy on iron rich foods for fear of too much iron? Def ask your midwife / OB.
pomelo / 5820 posts
I was slightly anemic, and took an iron supplement from about 20 weeks on. I didn't develop anemia until that point. Iron can cause constipation, so make sure you up your fiber intake!
GOLD / wonderful pomegranate / 28905 posts
On a related note for those that were anemic during pregnancy. Are your babies anemic (9 / 12 month or older)?
Just curious if there's any correlation.
apricot / 498 posts
I had iron infusions when we found there may be an issue. 6 weeks of trips to the infusion center in the hospital.
I also won't be getting my kids tested for anemia. The Dr. and I just got into a fight over it. Oh well!
GOLD / wonderful pomegranate / 28905 posts
@Ms.SK: why not?
I'm so glad her ped tested LO at 9 months. Hers was dangerously low - around a 3 when normal is 13. And if he didn't we wouldn't have found out, upon further testing, she has thalassemia trait.
coconut / 8305 posts
I don't have personal experience, but a friend of mine was really low & had to bring hers up to have her homebirth! She made it just by the skin of her teeth. Hope you can get yours up!!!
As for the kiddos, we only checked P's at her 12 mth WIC visit (it was a point low, but we also had a VERY restricted diet which the nurse figured attributed)... I'm sure they'll check it again at the 18 mth visit (we'll attempt to correct with diet before supplements)
GOLD / wonderful pomegranate / 28905 posts
@runsyellowlites: that's what we did/do but M's kept dropping. 
So she's currently now on the highest for her age/weight. I have a feeling if it's not at 10 (currently 6.5) at her 15 month we might be sent to a hematologist.
coconut / 8305 posts
@regberadaisy: Oh I know y'all did! I really really hope M's numbers have come up!!!!
@redsmarties: You could also try cooking in cast iron! My MW included an insert in my pregnancy binder about it!
Cooking spaghetti sauce in one simmering for ~3 hrs increases the iron from ~3mg/100g to 85mg/100g (that's a 29 time increase) AND even making scrambled eggs in one (around 3 mins in the pan) will increase the iron from 1.7mg/100g to ~4.1mg/100g.
Might definitely be something to consider start doing!
blogger / honeydew / 7081 posts
@runsyellowlites: Hmm...I've wanted an excuse to buy some cast iron pans, haha. This might be it!
@regberadaisy: I was tested back at the beginning (around 12 weeks), and was borderline anemic - but I've had a slight iron deficiency for years. The MW said my prenatal should be enough. These results just came in, and I guess my numbers dropped drastically! On top of the supplements she recommended, they're sending me a whole pamphlet on foods that would be okay, etc.
hostess / papaya / 10219 posts
I wasn't able to bring mine up with diet and supplements and had to get infusions. Good thing too because I lost a lot of blood in labor and would've been in serious trouble if I hadn't gotten my levels back up. Postpartum, I am back up to snuff with some supplements.
clementine / 797 posts
I'm not pregnant, but I am a thalessemia carrier, so I'm chronically anemic. Since iron supplements are toxic to me, I have to get all my extra iron from food. My hematologist told me to try to eat both heme iron rich food (red meats, tuna, liver-blech!) and non-heme iron rich food (green, leafy veggies, etc) together to get the most benefit from them. He also highly recommended cooking with cast iron-something I'd already been doing. I actually found it made the food taste better and made it worth the extra trouble to clean and maintain the pans.
Obviously, not sure if some of the heme iron rich foods are safe during pregnancy but I wanted to share since its something I deal with everyday. I'm quite curious how the thalessemia and anemia will affect my future pregnancies given that supplements/infusions are a no-no. Yet another lovey worry to pile on to the seemingly never-ending list of pregnancy worries!
pea / 21 posts
@PointeShoesTutus: Thanks for your advice...though I'm sorry you have to deal with this chronic issue. I just want to respond, having recently been diagnosed with anemia, that liver is not recommended in pregnancy as it also has high concentrations of Vitamin A which can cause birth defects.
For anyone else, I've been supplementing with Floradix, which has a much higher rate of absorption. So far I haven't had any of the more common GI issues associated with iron supplements.
honeydew / 7488 posts
@regberadaisy: I was a little anemic during pregnancy but was ok with a slowFe every day. DD ended up being anemic as well at her 2 yr visit and they put her on half a flintstone with iron. I think we are both just predisposed to being slightly anemic.
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