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Is Your Blood Healthy?

Low-iron Anemia and Pregnancy

By Sonya Weiss

She found out she had low iron when her son was born. "I suppose I should have known when I started craving ice in the last month of my pregnancy," says Truett. "However, I wrote that off as dehydration because I had been sick with a stomach virus. After I gave birth, they did all the usual tests and my blood work came back and showed I was low in iron."

According to Dr. Pho, severe anemia has been associated with reduced amniotic fluid volume, fetal cerebral vasodilation and non-reassuring fetal rate patterns. "Increased risks of prematurity, spontaneous abortion, low birth weight and fetal death have also been reported," he says.

Gail Tully, a homebirth midwife from Minneapolis, Minn., points out another risk with mothers-to-be and low-iron anemia. "The risk is that she doesn't tolerate a bleed as well or clot during bleeding well," she says. "She'll be more depleted than a woman with strong blood who loses the same amount."

Besides fatigue, signs of low-iron anemia to watch for can include hair loss, dizziness, headaches, muscle aches and pain – even from something as simple as picking up a pot or pan. Also watch for shortness of breath, pale skin, feeling cold in your hands and feet, rapid heartbeat and ringing in the ears.

Upping Your Iron Levels

What can you do to improve your iron intake? Here are some tips:

• Eat fruits and vegetables containing vitamin C such as strawberries, melons, oranges, raspberries, blueberries, peaches, pears and cantaloupe. Vegetables that contain vitamin C are leafy greens, broccoli, sweet potatoes and green peppers.
• Eat foods rich in iron such as red meat, cereals fortified with iron, egg yolks and liver.
• Avoid drinking tea during a meal. Tea contains tannin, which can inhibit iron absorption.
• Make sure you take your prenatal vitamins. Though iron supplements are all that's usually needed in most cases to rectify low-iron anemia, be sure and check with your doctor if you have any questions.

Want to see more?

• Are You Running out of Steam? What Every Woman Should Know About Iron Deficiency
• Are You Iron Deficient? A Simple Quiz Can Put You on the Road to Recovery
• Pumping Iron: Reduce Your Risk of Iron Deficiency Anemia
• Talk about it!

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