Hemorrhaging during labour?

Question

My friend who is 7months pregnant has just been on the phone, she has just come home from hospital and they have told her that she has severe iron deficiency and that her heart is under a lot of strain, they told her she is to be on bed rest for the remainder of the pregnancy and is to take a large quantity of iron every day until she goes into labour. They also told her that if she doesn't rest then there is a chance she could have a heart attack and she could also have one during labour, also; if she starts to hemorrhage it could be fatal. Obviously she is PETRIFIED! The doctors have told her she cant have a c-section as she is fine to push. So my question is, is there any way to reduce the risks of hemorrhaging during labour or is there nothing she can do to reduce the risks of this happening?

Answer 1

Oh yes! This is the place to come for advice on what to do in a life-threatening situation!  Gimme a break already!  The doctors sent her away with the advice that she should take a lot of iron and rest!  Which Witch Doctor is that?  Where do you live? In Zimbabwe?

Answer 2

If they were really concerned about her heart not being able to take the strain of labour, then they would offer her an elective c section. she should question this as it doesn't seem to add up. Also it sounds as though they have put her in unnecessary fear. if they were so concerned about her getting rest, they should have kept her in hospital

Answer 3

Something similar happened to my friend a few yrs ago and she was also very scared but the birth went ok with no problems and mum and baby were fine.

The doctors are just warning her of a worse case scenario and i'm sure they have things in place to make sure she is well looked after both at home and during the labour. They see this kind if thing everyday and know how to handle things even of she does have complications.

Just make sure she gets that rest and best of luck to her xx

Answer 4

First..If a woman hemorrhages it will not be during labor. There is no actual bleeding during labor. If she bleeds it will be postpartum. She can do several things to increase her iron levels. The last thing she should do is take iron pills they will constipate her, stress the liver and kidneys, and the iron is poorly absorbed. First she wants to take wheat grass..it has high levels of easily absorbed iron. She should go to a fresh juice bar to get it. She can also take Floradix Iron+ herbs formula. Any iron supplement should be taken with Vitamin C which helps absorption of iron. Also Nettle & Alfalfa teas increase amount of Vitamin K (needed for clotting) and hemoglobin in the blood. She should also seek a good midwife, her doctor is wack

Answer 5

The best advice is what the doctors told her.  You can help by making sure she is gettig REAL rest and finding things for her to do.  Bed rest sucks.  Help her find some hobbies.

Also the power of thought is amazing so try to get her to focus on all the positives.  

The docs are going to this extreme to prevent the chance of anything happening to her.  If she follows their orders she'll be fine.  Please help her iwth the bed rest.  It is the worst part.  You'd be the best to show up and clean up or cook and just hang out.  Bring her books, funny movies, and now would be a great time for her to take up a hobby like bed time scrap booking or knitting.

They're not going to schedule a c-sect unless her body absolutely cannot handle pushing.  c-sect is way more dangerous.  Try to get her to see that.  Also in our developed nations death or major complications are rare b/c we have excellent prenatal care.  Docs give these orders to insure we keep it that way!

She'll be fine as long as she takes care of herself!

Good Luck!

Answer 6

i would listen to the doctor and tell her to just stay calm and that she will be fine and that if she starts to feel not so good then say something to the doctor.

Answer 7

well i'm sure they have told her the best ways to avoid this - they are the experts. good luck to her.