Anaemia during pregnancy
During pregnancy, the woman’s body demands more vitamins and iron as the foetus requires its own supply of iron. The mother’s blood supply may become diluted and, often in pregnancy, the haemoglobin levels drop.
If your haemoglobin level drops below 10 grams, treatment for anaemia may be given. Your haemoglobin levels will routinely be tested at the beginning of your pregnancy and often in the later stages, especially if you are showing symptoms of anaemia.
Symptoms of anaemia
The symptoms of anaemia include: feeling very tired, experiencing chest pains or headaches, and occasionally having palpitations or breathlessness. If you are anaemic, you will probably look very pale.
Avoiding anaemia
The best way to avoid anaemia is to eat a well-balanced and healthy diet that has good sources of iron and vitamin B12 included in it. Taking a supplement of folic acid is recommended in early pregnancy (and before conception), as this helps make healthy red blood cells. Folic acid is also proven to help prevent instances of spina bifida occurring. See our dietary advice for further information.
Treatment for anaemia
Doctors will usually prescribe an iron supplement for pregnant women suffering from anaemia.
Babies can also be Anaemic. Anaemia can be hard to diagnose as there are often no symptoms, but you may notice your baby looking pale, becoming overly tired, being short of breath or becoming very sleepy when feeding. (Although all these symptoms can be present in a newborn without it being anaemia). In an older child, sometimes an anaemic child will eat chalk or soil and this can identify an iron deficiency problem.
Treatment:
Anaemia can be diagnosed by a simple blood test which will be administered in the maternity unit. The hospital may prescribe iron drops with your baby's feeds, but generally, breastfed babies receive enough iron from their mothers milk and bottle-fed babies should be given an iron-supplemented formula. In some severe cases babies may need to have blood transfusions, but you will be advised by your doctor and midwife if this is the case.
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