Anemia in Pregnancy | Treatment and diet

anemia in pregnancy

Anemia in pregnancy is a condition in which the amount of hemoglobin protein and red blood cells (red blood cells) is reduced.

Hemoglobin is important because it delivers oxygen to all cells in the body and takes away carbon dioxide from them. If hemoglobin is lacking, oxygen deficiency (hypoxia) occurs. Naturally, anemia affects not only the body of the expectant mother, but also the baby – he also begins to experience hypoxia.

Lack of oxygen can negatively affect the formation of internal organs of the fetus. A baby who suffers from intrauterine hypoxia may later have more respiratory illnesses, become restless, irritable and tearful. Anemia in pregnancy is most often associated with iron deficiency or poor absorption. During pregnancy the need for this substance increases – iron is actively consumed during the growth of the fetus and placenta. The adult body contains about 3-4 grams of iron. The physiological loss of this substance (with excretions, sweat, exfoliated skin cells, hair) is about 1 mg per day, but the body of a pregnant or nursing woman loses up to 7-8 mg during this period.

Symptoms and causes of anemia in pregnancy

The cause of anemia in pregnancy is sometimes also a gastrointestinal malfunction: a person may consume a sufficient amount of iron, but the body will not be able to absorb it. In such cases, treatment of internal organs is required, and then the restoration of normal hemoglobin levels in the blood. You can find out if the expectant mother has anemia by a general blood test. Not without reason, doctors ask pregnant women to do such a test every month. If the amount of hemoglobin in the blood is less than 110, and the number of red blood cells is less than 3.9, this indicates an iron deficit in the body. In this case, the doctor will advise to take another biochemical blood test to determine the amount of iron in the bone marrow and understand how serious deviations from the norm in the woman’s condition are and what treatment she needs.

Anemia is also indicated by certain symptoms:

  • weakness,
  • fatigue,
  • low blood pressure,
  • dry skin,
  • brittle nails and hair,
  • bruising under the eyes,
  • stomatitis.

If a mom-to-be notices these signs, she should tell her doctor about them.

Treatment of anemia in pregnancy

If the doctor determines that a woman is anemic, he prescribes medications containing iron. They should be taken taking into account some biochemical features of the body. Iron is poorly absorbed in combination with calcium, so the treatment of anemia milk and dairy products in the diet are limited. For 1-2 hours before and one hour after taking the medication it is necessary to exclude the use of such products. Expectant mothers who regularly take multivitamins, surprised by the fact that they determine the lack of iron – because multivitamins include this essential element. But the fact is that in combination with other substances, iron is poorly absorbed. Therefore, during the treatment of anemia in pregnancy multivitamins are usually removed. But iron is well absorbed in combination with ascorbic acid, so many modern drugs contain both iron and ascorbic acid.

Treatment of anemia in pregnancy can take a long time, from three to six months. The fact is that the process of restoration of iron reserves in the body occurs quite slowly, even after the level of hemoglobin in the blood becomes normal.

Diet for pregnant women with iron deficiency anemia

Pregnant women with iron deficiency anemia in pregnancy are prescribed a special diet in addition to medication. Food absorbs 2.5 mg of iron per day, while medication absorbs 15 to 20 times more. The greatest amount of iron is found in meat products. The iron they contain is absorbed in the human body by 25-30%. Absorption of iron from other animal products (eggs, fish) is 10-15%, from plant products – only 3-5%.

More information about the diet in pregnant women here

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