Breathlessness and dizziness in third trimester

[CapsizeQueen]

Anyone else? I am am 35 weeks and finding it increasingly difficult to teach as a couple of times an hour I just get incredibly breathless and need to sit down and stop or I get very dizzy. At home, it almost feels like a panic attack, but it's not...
This along with the SPD is making me wish I'd started maternity leave already!

It could be low iron levels... it can cause breathlessness, that's what I found. Teaching in later stages is bloody hard work. I had a chair on wheels and got about the classroom on that! Kids thought it was hilarious.

Well my 28 week blood work was fine so i don't think it's iron. Just finding it hard work as you say!

My daughter has the same symptoms, was ok at 28 weeks but has just had more bloods taken by the Dr. which show her ferritin levels are too low, she is 36 .3 weeks and has been given iron tabs, she has taken pregnacare and spatone but they dont seem to have kept her levels up.

My iron levels are ok too, but I get very breathless (31 weeks now) - had to sit on the floor in John Lewis baby section the other day as was worried about fainting. Unfortunately I think it's just that some people's lungs are more squashed by baby than others'.
That said, your iron levels can fall a lot between 28 and 35 weeks so you should ask for repeat blood tests just in case.
When are you stopping work?

I get this too, am 30 weeks. Seems to strike worst mid morning. I am a teacher too and Its hard. I had to read to my class for half an hour the other day and kept having to take breaks to breathe!! Iron can be low enough to make you feel crap without being low enough to merit tablets. A high iron diet has definitely made me feel better. I live on houmous, spinach and weetabix! See if you can find any exercises or yoga postures to open your chest. My yoga teacher did some with me this week, but I do yoga everyday anyway so it has just been a case of adjusting some of the poses.

And rest. Which I know is bloody hard as a pregnant teacher. I taught full time until 35 weeks in my first pregnancy, in a new school in a dept under loads of pressure and It was so hard. You just end up having to cut corners or you risk your health.

I'm 28 weeks, and get this too. I have been scoffing eating more than usual but trying to keep a balanced diet however. So I've been putting it down to being a whale not in shape.

Drinking a lot of fluids and not carrying much around with me seems to help. Living in a top flat though, I dread walking up the stairs everytime.

I think a certain amount of breathlessness is normal as in the last trimester, but I?d check with your midwife if it?s excessive. I?m 35 weeks and was feeling really really breathless and dizzy and just ignored it because i thought it was part and parcel.

I mentioned it to the midwife at my last apt because I was still feeling breathless (even when I sat still). She mentioned it being a sign of low iron and so she rang to check what my blood results were as they had not come back (they had been taken 4 weeks previously). Turns out my iron was really low, they gave me iron tablets which i?ve been taking for the past 10 days and have definitely started to notice a difference and feel much better.

I'm slightly annoyed that they didn?t contact me and that it took my mid wife chasing it up to find out, but that wouldn't even have happened if i'd not have mentioned the symptoms. Better to be safe than sorry and check with your midwife I?d say.

Thanks for the replies, I will talk to my midwife but I don't want her to think I'm just being wet! I've made enough fuss about the SPD....

Oh and going to try to get through til next week when I'll be 36.5 weeks...

You have to make a fuss about the spd or you don't get any help :-) I had awful PGP in the 2nd trimester and it actually got better with help from physio and GP.