Anemia: Will it hurt your baby?
I am 10 weeks pregnant and my doctor has just told me I am anemic. He has suggested iron supplements. I have been taking a prenatal vitamin with 60mg. Isn't that enough? What effects does anemia have on my baby?
Question:Peg Plumbo CNM
Peg Plumbo has been a certified nurse-midwife (CNM) since 1976. She has assisted at over 1,000 births and currently teaches in the... Read more
Mild iron deficiency anemia causes no real problems for the baby. As anemia becomes more severe, research shows that the risk of preterm delivery, hypoxia (lack of oxygen to the baby), growth retardation and preeclampsia do increase. These may not be directly a result of the anemia, however, but are associated factors. But keeping iron levels at normal levels increases the oxygen carrying potential of the blood and provides a buffer against the blood loss that will occur during delivery.
When one considers iron supplementation, a lot of variables enter into the equation -- the amount, the degree of deficiency, the type of deficiency, the gestational age, the type of iron in the supplement and the maternal stores that already exist.
60 mg is probably enough to maintain hemoglobin but I would doubt it is enough to replenish depleted stores. But pushing iron in larger and larger doses is not the answer either. As more iron is taken in, the body absorbs less and less but if you are depleted, the body will absorb more than if you weren't.
More iron is absorbed as gestation advances too. If you can tolerate them, iron is better absorbed when taken between meals and not taken with milk, coffee or tea. Taking a Vitamin C supplement has been shown to help absorption of dietary iron.
A hemoglobin level below 11 during the first or third trimester, or below 10.5 during the second, is defined as anemia. Have your provider draw a serum ferritin level. Anemia accompanied by a serum ferritin concentration of less than 12 can be presumed to be iron deficiency and requires treatment with 60 to 120 mg of ferrous iron per day. When the levels reach normal for the gestation, intake can be decreased to 30 mg per day.
This is a very complex topic as you can see. There are other reasons for anemia such as blood loss, thalassemias, sickle cell, parasites etc. and your history will determine which type of screening is appropriate.
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