Breastfeeding and pregnant - calcium and iron supplements??

[alexpolismum]

Hello,

I am pregnant with my third child and still breastfeeding my second. Yesterday I had an appointment with the gynaecologist and he told me that as I was still breastfeeding I should take calcium and iron supplements.

No tests have been done to see what my calcium levels are like, and blood tests have already shown that I actually have high iron levels.

I was surprised my the whole thing, because when I was pregnant last time, with my second child, I was also still breastfeeding my first baby. No mention was made of supplements. The thing is, I am with a new doctor this time (the previous one has moved to Crete).

Has anyone else heard of this?

I'm not breastfeeding, but my gp has also prescribed calcuim supplements with this pregnancy. She said this was a fairly new thing and all pg women are being given it.
HTH

yes, i'm prescribed both calcium and iron and this is my first pregnancy .. however, my one concern is (because i'm still evaluating this doctor to see whether i want to continue with him or not) i've heard that calcium and iron should not be consumed together .. my doctor however said that it was ok to take them at the same time .. i'm confused , does this mean he's not a good doctor ??

jess - my doctor told me to take the iron in the morning with a glass of orange juice at breakfast time and take the calcium in the evening after dinner so that they wouldn't actually be taken at the same time. Not being a medical person, I don't know whether that's standard advice, but perhaps it would set your mind at rest to talk to another doc?

thanks for the advice , yes I think taking them separately is a better idea .. I've read (from several sources) that they do interfere with each other being absorbed properly if taken together.. as for asking another doctor, I probably will .. the thing is I'm 8 months pregnant and have been with this same doc since the beginning of the pregnancy, I'd hate to have to change him now.. but such misinformation worries me

and another thing, which probably belongs in another discussion topic .. he also advised me to take half the standard dose of an RH injection (for RH/bloodtype incompatibility) and the other half to be taken a few weeks later.. after being stored in the fridge .. while the manuf. leaflet indicates that any waste material should be discarded .. that's also annoying me .. so sorry to mention such complex info but I'm just so concerned and I don't know who to ask or talk to

this doctor is supposed to be on of the better ones out there, he is not supposed to be giving such idiotic misinformation .. hmm.. what to do?

I don't know anything about the Rh doses I'm afraid - you could try asking in the pregnancy topic category

You don't actually need to change doctors if you don't want to, just ask another one about these specific issues.