Anyone else anaemic? What are you eating?

[Greenstone]

Midwife called yesterday to let me know that my iron is way down (again, this is my second pregnancy and same happened last time) and I need to start taking the heavy-duty supplements asap.

Anybody else? What are you eating? I'm not a vegetarian, but I don't eat a lot of red meat or meat in general. I like it it a lot, but eating meat every day just feels like too much. I eat the whole range of veg, and have lentils and beans about 4 times a week. Eggs probably only once a week so maybe I should eat more eggs.

I know I need to take my supplements with vitamin C and to avoid tannins around the same time. Any other tips?

The watercress sounds interesting. I have previously made a molasses cake - found a recipe online. It was like a Jamaica cake but it's gluten free (bread gives me reflux). Very heavy and tastes lovely warmed up with a bit of ice cream. Mmmmmmmm.
The dark meat on poultry is meant to be iron too.
I got very anaemic due to heavy periods caused by fibroids. It was dreadful. I felt so tired I could barely climb a set of stairs.

Are you all telling me that Popeye was based on a lie?!

Kiwis, cabbage, spinach, lentils, lettuce, all green leafy vegetables all have high iron content. Galfor C tablets are good because they have iron + vitamin c in them. Don't overdo the iron intake too much because it can cause constipation.

Ask her for the actual numbers and speak to your gp.

My mw insisted I went on iron three times a day, and it turned out my blood count was normal with a borderline ferritin (iron stores) which can be normal in early pregnancy. They really upset my bowels too, and I never really needed them!

GP has cut me down to one a day, which is manageable.

She told me on the phone - 9. something, which I think is probably a bit low. Said she wanted to get it back up over 11. I've been feeling tired of course but isn't every pregnant woman tired (esp. with a toddler)? The main sign for me was the return of my restless legs which has been a real scourge. Hoping that I'll manage OK on the supplements and by eating a bit more meat and that I might finally get some rest at night - last night was just ridiculous :(

A lot of you are vegetarian and are saying that your iron is fine - it goes to show, I must not have been eating enough of the right veg after all, not enough of the dark leafy kind.

Anyway - beef stew and mash for lunch is planned and that'll do nicely on this chilly autumnal-feeling day :)

Lots of good tips and advice here - I'd just add try and get iron rich food into every meal and snacks too if you can.

It can be difficult to raise iron levels so little and often is the way to go. Only a tiny bit of the iron we eat is absorbed, so eating iron rich foods with vit c rich food will really help maximize what you are absorbing.

(I was anemic with DD2)

Your iron levels can be OK for years, but in PG your blood volume increases dramatically so the iron in your body gets diluted, hence the levels fall.

I'm in the same situation at 37 + 3, and desperately trying to increase iron levels so I can go for water birth. I'm currently 9.9 and will not be accepted at the midwife unit unless I go above 10. I have been advised red meat, and dried apricots and dark chocolate. I'm quite surprised to be so low, as I thought I had a balanced diet before. Also on iron supplements and taking spatone. Fully expecting constipation in the near future!
Good luck to everyone!

You should also make sure you have things high in Vitamin C with your iron rich foods. For example, steak with spinach and red peppers. Vitamin C helps the body absorb Iron, which is why you have them both together.

Some great ideas so far but just wanted to point out that caffeine intake interferes with iron absorption so you need to separate your coffee or coke from your iron rich food by an hour. Caffeine also interferes with absorption of other vitamins and minerals as well (including calcium).

I don't say this to be saintly - I am still drinking coffee at 34 wks!

Also, chick peas are quite high in iron and go nicely with aforementioned dried (finely chopped)5 apricots and a dressing to make a Moroccan sort of vibe.

Can't remember if anyone has said eggs, but if you're not a big meat eater they are a fabulous way of getting iron. I'm a veggie but it's true that iron from meat sources is easier for the body to absorb.

Eggs and spinach are both iron absorption inhibitors. And cocoa. Post DC3 my iron got very low and I spent ages reading stuff to try and sort it out with diet. Meat, poultry, salmon and vit c is the way forward.

Maybe eggs with Vit C is ok.

Peppermint and camomile teas are also iron absorption inhibitors.

Anyone said tomatoes? They have a good iron content.

Ooh! Ready brek! Bloody magical stuff.

Iron supplements with the iron in heme form as the best for absorption, as it is in the same form as that found in red meat (& thus gentler on the stomach too).

Keep checking your levels thoroughly & understand the results (as in which levels are being reported), as low iron at time of delivery can mean any potential blood loss has a greater detrimental effect.

I read somewhere when I was anaemic and pg, that spinach doesn't have iron in a form which is absorbed by us anyway? That was 15-odd years ago, so maybe they've found that it does after all!

Hope you all get your iron levels up without too much difficulty, and have happy pgs.

<a class="break-all" href="http://tna.europarchive.org/20100929190231/www.eatwell.gov.uk/healthydiet/nutritionessentials/vitaminsandminerals/iron/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">tna.europarchive.org/20100929190231/www.eatwell.gov.uk/healthydiet/nutritionessentials/vitaminsandminerals/iron/

Don't eat spinach - it prevents the absorption of iron.

Husband is a haematologist. I ate steak 3x week and also took liquid feroglobin plus.

Ps that was for the last month of my preg. Accounting for lochia and breastfeeding I now eat steak every week and continue the feroglobin liquid (but far less strictly).

Also to add to this, I breastfed my ds until he was two, didn't get my periods back until he was 14 months and then they were very light while I continued to breastfeed.

In my second pregnancy my iron levels stayed up and steady despite my having been severely anaemic after the first birth. I put it down to the lack of periods in the intervening time. I know this doesn't work for everyone and some people get a quicker return of menstruation, but maybe worth knowing.