Was reading over anemia site, and saw this..?

Question

The amount of iron you need shoots up during pregnancy from 18 to 27 milligrams (mg) a day. And because it's hard to get enough iron through diet alone, the Centers for Disease Control recommend that pregnant women take a daily supplement of 30 mg of elemental iron as a preventive dose. Many prenatal supplements contain that amount.

My doctor has me on 325 mg of iron a day PLUS my pre-natal. Wow, my blood count must be very low! That is kind of scary.

Answer 1

2 points

Answer 2

Gosh, I didn't know that-scary!

After delivery, I lost half the blood in my body and still wasn't anaemic. Guess mine must be high!  

Answer 3

I don't know what mg the iron supplement pills were that I had to take, but I did have to take them once a day, in addition to my prenatals.  My doctor also advised me to eat Total cereal - I was shocked at how many vitamins and nutrients are in it - 100% daily value of iron, for one.  I ate that for breakfast during my pregnancy, and between everything my iron levels did go up to an acceptable amount.  However, the day after my baby was born they had dropped again, so I had to continue the iron pills for a bit longer.  You may certainly need all the iron your doctor has you on, but you have to watch out for too much of it too.  Like I mentioned about being anemic again after my delivery, my doctor told me to start taking the iron pills 2x a day, and I started having pains at home, attributed to too much iron.  If you are following everything like you are now, and not having any problems, it is most likely fine.  If you notice feeling any different at any time, mention it to your doctor.