Originally Posted by
purplepoet20
If you have anemia you should be taking something for it if you plan to get pregnant because it can affect your baby... iron is very important in pregnancy - online post....
"Iron is essential for making hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen to other cells. During pregnancy, the amount of blood in your body increases until you have almost 50 percent more than usual. And you need more iron to make more hemoglobin for all that additional blood. You also need extra iron for your growing baby and placenta. Unfortunately, most women start pregnancy without sufficient stores of iron to meet their body's increased demands, particularly in the second and third trimesters. If you get to the point where you no longer have enough iron to make the hemoglobin you need, you become anemic.
Your risk is even higher if you have morning sickness severe enough to cause frequent vomiting, if you've had two or more pregnancies close together, if you're pregnant with more than one baby, if you have an iron-poor diet, or if your pre-pregnancy menstrual flow was heavy.
This is why the amount of iron you need shoots up during pregnancy from 18 to 27 milligrams (mg) per day. Because it's hard to get enough iron through diet alone, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that pregnant women take a daily supplement of 30 mg of elemental iron as a preventive dose. Many prenatal supplements contain that amount.
Iron deficiency is by far the most common cause of anemia in pregnancy, but it's not the only cause. You could also develop anemia from not getting enough folic acid or vitamin B12, by losing a lot of blood, or from certain diseases or inherited blood disorders such as sickle cell disease. How does iron-deficiency anemia affect my baby's health and mine?
Your baby does a good job taking care of his iron needs – he'll get his share before you do. Still, maternal anemia can affect a baby's iron stores at birth, increasing his risk for anemia later in infancy.
Iron-deficiency anemia during pregnancy is linked to an increased risk of preterm delivery and low birth weight. It's also associated with a higher risk of stillbirth or newborn death, so it's something to take seriously.
Iron-deficiency anemia affects your health as well. It can sap your energy and make it harder for your body to fight infection. And if you're anemic later in pregnancy, you're more likely to have problems if you lose a lot of blood when you give birth. You may feel dizzy, have a rapid heart rate, or have other symptoms that require you to stay in the hospital an extra day or two. You're also more likely to need a blood transfusion. And there's research suggesting that anemia may even raise your risk of postpartum depression."
Take iron with C, D, and calcium.... if swaying boy drink a small cup of milk with the vitamins because it will help your body to absorb it.