#ThrowbackThursday - Anaemia in pregnancy
I’m five months pregnant and feeling EXTREMELY TIRED. I’m talking the type of tired where you are at work and you sneak to the toilet for a 10 minute nap. The type of tired that you can’t wait to get home and sleep for hours so you end up sleeping on the train/bus and miss your stop. But that’s normal, right?
WRONG!
I found out at about 5/6 months pregnant that I had extremely low iron levels during my pregnancy - so low that my midwife told me I am now anaemic and need to take iron tablets and other iron supplements to boost my levels back up ASAP.
While I was taken aback at the results of my blood test it totally made sense why I was SO tired, plus the dizziness, shortness of breath and trouble concentrating. And yes, it’s normal to feel these symptoms in pregnancy anyway but not to the point where it affects everything you do!
So, what causes iron deficiency anaemia during pregnancy? (Get ready for some GCSE Science) In the most simplest terms, iron is found in the red blood cells and is used to carry oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body. It also helps your muscles to store and use oxygen. When you don’t produce enough iron, your body can become fatigued and you have a lower resistance to infection. If this is left too long it can have detrimental effects on mum and baby - hence why you have quite a few blood tests while pregnant, the earlier it’s caught, the better!
As mentioned, I had to take iron tablets and absolutely hated them. *warning, the next sentence is quite graphic* The tablets made me constipated and when I did manage to go, they made my poo go black. Like really really black, it was quite scary!! Also, if you make the mistake of taking them without eating they can give you quite an upset stomach.
In order to counter the constipation, I recommend prune juice, it’s equally as horrible but does the trick! Also, orange juice is good too.
If you are diagnosed with low levels of iron during your pregnancy, do not worry! Take the tablets as per your midwife/ gp recommends and try to take it easy.
Foods that help naturally boost your iron levels include spinach, kale, nuts, red meat, dried fruits and iron fortified cereal.
I’m still on the iron tablets, 6 weeks on from having baby but have a blood test next week to check my levels have gone up again. Fingers crossed!!!!
Until next time x