Iron Deficiency During Pregnancy

 

At your first prenatal visit and again in the late second or early third trimester, your doctor will test your blood for iron. A low level of iron puts you at increased risk of developing anemia. Approximately 20 percent of pregnant women suffer from anemia caused by an iron deficiency in pregnancy.

 

The reason iron deficiency is so common in pregnancy is that women require about twice as much iron as when they are not pregnant. During pregnancy, your blood volume increases by about fifty percent, which can result in an iron deficiency. This often occurs in the second trimester, as the blood volume increases and the baby begins to demand more iron. For this reason, you will be tested again, even if your iron was fine in early pregnancy.

 

Women who experience iron deficiency in pregnancy are at risk of developing anemia. The biggest risks to the baby are low birth weight and preterm labor. A study in California showed that women who experience iron deficiency anemia in the second trimester are twice as likely to have a preterm labor as women with normal levels of iron. Check out: http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/71/5/1280S