Iron after birth

[Theyarealltaken]

I had my baby 10 days ago, i had ventouse, episiotomy and then manual removal of placenta. I’ve lost quite a bit of blood and was given iron tablets for 6 weeks. It made me extremely constipated, I did get stool softener medicine as well but it doesn’t seem to work. My butt is in constant pain, I can’t sit properly, going to the toilet is agony :( it makes me want to stop taking iron ! Do you know any ways I can help myself? I drink lots of water and eat fibre, it doesn’t seem to do the job tho.

I only took my iron tablets every other day, post- birth. Obviously it took longer for them to work, but my main concern at the time was not being constipated.

I also ate melon, one raw pepper and a bowl of bran flakes every day to help things along.

@JemimaTiggywinkle

I’m taking 3 a day ! 😵‍💫

I had something similar and expect the same again with no3.

I did the same as Jemima - took them every second day.

Also ate as well as I could manage. Fortified cereals, red meat, green leafy veg, prunes, dates and fresh fruit. Drank pints of prune juice mixed with fresh orange. It's easy to survive on biscuits and pringles in the days post birth (for me anyway!) but it's not great for your digestion.

You can also get stool softeners like lactulose. It tastes horrible but so is constipation.

Hope it gets better - it's horrible to contend with when you're trying to recover and get used to the new baby.

I gave up the tablets and got some spatone, no more side effects, had to take due to huge blood loss during emergency c section almost 14 months ago.

Every second day and loads of water and fresh orange. I feel for you, it's not pleasant

Go back to your doctor and ask for different iron supplements.

I had the opposite problem with mine.

I also had the opposite problem with mine. My midwife said it’s very common and suggested taking one a day or one every other. I ended up after a few days stopping them and all was fine but worth checking with your midwife first.

One a day or every other day is quite common these days and I can’t remember the exact science but as well as causing fewer side effects it can result in better iron absorption than the higher doses. Maybe chat to your GP/midwife and see if they think reducing the dose is sensible for you. Are you taking dihydrocodeine/codeine/anything like that too?… that’ll make things worse!

I took lactulose for a few days which sorted out the constipation. Stay near a loo until after you've been the first time after taking it!

I didn’t take mine at all. Had half of an iron infusion after my first birth before it tissued and my hand swelled up and went grey….sort of put me off the idea of iron from then on!! (plus I was trying to avoid constipation when I had enough issues on that front after a fairly brutal forceps birth). Took floradix instead. After the second birth I did the same and was open with the midwife at the three day check. She told me I’d feel like shit but it was up to me. I did feel fairly crap for a couple of weeks but it was a conscious and considered choice, and my iron levels got back up to normal in time.

Prunes, orange juice, coffee and haribos! That's my magical constipation mix

I had a PPH and was prescribed iron tablets. After a few days of horror I stopped taking them (on the advice of the midwife) and took Spa tone instead. Lactulose helped with the constipation.

The spatone looks amazing. I'm going to stock up and start taking that before my section so my iron levels are good. I've had 2 sections and 2 PPHs.

I had baby 11 days ago by c section and my iron is low. Prescribed 2 tablets a day and have not taken them as I already struggle with bowels and iron tablets are just awful for constipation and nausea. I'm taking Spatone and feel much better already. I had already been taking Spatone before baby arrived, but I've upped the dosage to 2 sachets a day since.

I had a 3 unit transfusion after a pph during emcs, was given iron tablets but had to stop them as they gave me awful black diarrhoea, I took floradix for 3 months afterwards instead.

Just stop them for a week until you are sorted. It's not going to make much difference long term. In the meantime get some lactulose, try and do plenty of walking and drink loads of water.
In the short term for a severe blockage try glycerin suppositories (available off the shelf in supermarkets).
When resuming, take the iron in an empty stomach with orange juice. You can also get gentle iron which is better absorbed hence less constipation. Also suggest if you do stay on the current one, take a lower dose. It sounds like your body isn't able to absorb it all anyway, hence the side effects. Take doses at least 1 day apart, or every other day. There's evidence that absorption is hindered if you take it too often. In short, it's not something that you need to stick to the recommended dose - better to vary it to suit your body.