told I can't have a homebirth while anemic, or while having a haemaglobin level under 12, is this true??

[himynameisfred]

surely if I bleed lots I can go to hospital for a transfusion afterwards.

I've had 3 perfectly normal deliveries with no complications.

Anyone have any knowledge on this rule?

all this blood talk sounds incredibly complicated, and interesting!

Indith, what is the drug exactly that you find works better than spatone, I'm desperate to be less anemic, I struggle through the day right now. But I have massive difficulty swallowing tablets.
What were your latest HB levels?

I thought I would bleed less with being anemic (and having lowish blood pressure). I don't recal bleeding much at all in the past.
I just remember what looked like blood tinted fluids.

I'm 10 1/2 to 11 stone and 5ft8

'doctors told me that it was very unlikely they'd have the blood I needed on site, they'd need time to prepare to have it ordered in.'

If that's true, then all the more reason to get your hb up!

But there is such thing as a universal donor, which means a type of blood that can be given to everyone in an emergency, so even if you have an unusual blood type, you can receive universal donor blood. Hospital blood banks should always have this blood in stock.

I know belgo, it's slightly terrifying!

the problem is that I can't have the universal type either, as I have anti-bodies to quite a common anti-gen in my blood, so my blood can attack other blood :s
I have anti-m in my blood

I planned a homebirth with dd and fought to keep my iron levels up during pregnancy. They were around 11.5 at the last check and above the 10.5 threshold recommended here. I had to transfer and lost a lot of blood. My iron levels were 7 post birth. I was unwell. In fact I was so lightheaded and out of it that it had quite a negative effect on my first days and weeks with dd.

IMHO, your question and energies are misdirected. If you're 24 weeks, the question should be 'what's the best way of getting my iron levels up'. The fight for a hb might not be one you have, but it's good sense to look at getting your iron levels steady and sufficient before any delivery. Then the decision is yours. But I'd recommend concentrating some effort on increasing your hb count now.

I do really hope your plans work out this time round. I so desperately wanted a hb both times but ended up with 2 x emcs. And thank heavens really or I wouldn't be here and I certainly wouldn't have 2 lovely dc. Try not to see a hospital birth as absolutely bad if you can. Just as something you may have to do in certain circumstances. It's a fight you don't want to mentally have when in labour. Chances are you'll be fine to hb, but it can be worth confronting what it is you don't like about hospitals and how you might retain some control/comfort if you have to go to one at any point pre, during or post delivery.

Vitamin C helps the absorption of iron, so any iron supplements you take, take it with orange juice/kiwi fruits etc.

Ask your pharmacy for iron in a form other then tablets. Also take lactulose to prevent constipation.

My hospital want snyone in with a Hb below 10.
I fought to keep mine up as even normally it rests at about 10.5 so can never give blood.
I took spatone daily, iron tablets and lots of iron rich foods.

FWIW i lost over a litre in theatre and Hb dropped to 8.3, i looked and felt horrendous and the hospital are claiming my low Hb was a reason for further disasters!

On ITU we tranfuse when Hb drops below 8.0

I don't know anything about Spatone. I drank Floradix proactively because it didn't upset my digestion. Seemed to work well.

Had a home birth last year and I can recommend Spatone for getting your iron levels up to a safe levels. Focus on being proactive. Best of luck :o

haven't read whole thread:

below 12? seriously?
most labs say that above 11 is normal, and often hospitalised (general don't know about maternity) patients are not transfused til below 9 and sometimes even 8

yes she said she thinks it's 12 but would check. It seems more like 10 is average guideline.

I wish they'd transfused me at 8.9, I'm just creeping around 9 now and I'm torture, the tiredness

It is just the ferrous sulphate tablets I'm taking but they add up to a lot of iron a day! They are very little tablets. Spatone is great but sometimes it just isn't enough. Levels were 13.2 at my last test. I tend to have problems holding onto iron stores so end up with stupidly low ferritin levels.

You have plenty of time to get your levels up with tablets and diet so you can have a safe HB.

Sometimes you can take all the dietary iron you like as supplements or in food but if you are not absorbing it properly then it will make no difference to your iron levels. In pregnancy it can be more difficult to absorb iron (& other nutrients) due to changes in digestive enzymes & food transit time in the gut. Also your Hb iron levels can be fine but ferritin iron levels rock bottom. If you have a bleed at any point whilst aneamic it will have a more detrimental effect than if you had better iron levels.

Another option is to have an iron IV transfusion rather a blood transfusion - this can improve ferritin levels over a period of a couple of weeks. (Iron injections used to be used but are not so common now as quite painful). Blood transfusions tend to immediately improve Hb levels but will not necessarily have an impact on ferritin levels unless supplementary iron is also taken. Supplements should have at least 50mcg of iron in them (which is why Spatone & Floradix are not that great as serious iron therapy). You can get haeme iron supplements which are expensive but the best absorbed. Iron supplements don't have to be constipating - it depends on the chemical compound the iron comes in. Check online or with a pharmacist or health food advisor for a non-constipating formulation.