iron level experts - can you answer some questions please?

[Namedilemma]

My iron levels at 34 weeks are 10.2 - this is down from 10.7 at 28 weeks, and despite my taking 2 sachets of Spatone a day with orange juice.

At my last appointment, they said they weren't really worried until they drop below 10, so am assuming they still won't be worried, but I was just wondering if there's anything else I can do to boost levels a bit? Can I take a pregnancy multivitamin/iron along with the 2 sachets of spatone for example? I had stopped taking the vitamins after the first trimester but perhaps I should start again!

Any other tips?

Am having a c-section at 39 weeks so would quite like them not to drop further before then.

thanks in advance.

I was prescribed iron for low levels, below 10 in all 3 pregnancies. With DC3 they were threatening my home birth if I didn't get back up to 10. I was taking the iron tablets and it wasn't working terribly well, but I started taking a vitamin C tablet every day too and that boosted my levels a lot, as my body was absorbing the iron better.

My GP also told me to avoid tea as the tannins affect absorbtion.

I'm afraid I don't know anything about spatone, it may already have vit. C in.

Hiya, yes you can take a pregnancy multi vit aswel. My levels dropped to 8.6 last time. Drink oj with every meal aswel. As pp said avoid tea but also need to avoid milk and gaviscon (or similar) products as they stop the iron absorption. Eat iron rich foods, eggs are supposed to be good, leafy green stuff, dark chocolate and cereals fortified with iron. If you're worried about not having a home birth it might be worth trying some iron tablets instead from your gp. There's a lot of people who have not so nice side effects such as constipation but randomly last time I didn't. Not sure when your next bloods are going to be but if you go for tablets instead they alone can take upto 2 wks to make any difference.
The chances are they may have dropped as low as they are going to but you can't afford time wise to wait and see.

Thanks both. Home birth definitely not on the cards - am having a planned c-section - but would still prefer them not to drop further in case of any bleeding etc.
Will add the multivitamin as well, and do what I can on the food front!

Mine is historically low, with ds1 I had rich iron food, annabel kamel does a lovely spinach pasta dish. :) I also had three iron tablets a day from 28 weeks with him. However bled very heavy and he orated with him so needed four units of blood to recover quicker. Ds2 because of my complications with ds1 they put me on 3 tablets a day from day dot regardless plus one spar tone. It's vile. Totally, however the results were brilliant, I did cut back on tea and caffeine as I believe it is a suppressant.

I had a d c last year and my levels dropped to 2, however the same thing of three tablets a day plus spar tone it took a good 8 weeks but my levels managed to recover to a level they were happier with. Am now expecting dc3 and taking one iron tablet daily (have been since last bloods in January) just to ensure they don't drop again.

Spar tone for me I struggle to drink due to the flavour.

Oh I also took/take pregnacare as well. :-) doctors were happy with pregnacare and the three tablets/spar tone. Although sometimes tablets does make you constipated, oh and it turns your poop black just so you're not alarmed!

I'm taking a 200mg iron tablet once a day, have done since the start of pregnancy due to low levels and am now 34 weeks. When I went to buy Spatone the pharmacist told me the amount of iron in it is so low it's hardly worth taking it at all. Side effects aren't pleasant but a necessary evil as low iron levels have been linked to excessive blood loss. Also the iron tablets are only £2.....

You should definitely take a good iron supplement with fruit juice (helps absorption) and avoid tea/coffee/milk/antacids at the same time (as they inhibit absorption).
I have no idea what spatone is in terms of iron content, but I would seek advice from a pharmacist - they can give you stronger over the counter iron if they think it's appropriate (which I expect it is) which will be 200mg instead of the pathetic 14mg or whatever is in the regular off the shelf iron supplements. Side effects of iron can be constipation - so up your fruit and fluid intake and maybe have some dried fruit to keep it all running smoothly. I felt crap/knackered with an Hb of 11.

Eat iron rich foods like red meat - you'll get way more from red meat than any other food source. If you're vegetarian eggs are your best source. Green veg has to be eaten in HUGE quantities to get any iron, so if you're vegan, get cooking up a cauldron of green veg. Google iron levels in food to find out more.
Definitely take the multi-vit too as B vitamins also important in blood.