Anemia in Pregnancy

During my first checkup with my pregnancy, my iron was checked as part of a routine blood screening. Because the blood was sent off for testing, I didn't get the results right away and my doctor prescribed iron pills for me to take just in case my iron was low. I also had folic acid and prenatal vitamins prescribed. At my second visit, my doctor told me that my iron count was so good that I could stop taking the iron pills, so I stopped them that day.

As I went through my pregnancy, my iron stayed fine. But, at around the seventh month of pregnancy, I started noticing that I was more tired than normal. I couldn't make it through the day without taking a nap, which is very unusual for me. I thought it was just a part of being in the third trimester and didn't think anything more of it.

I went to a doctor appointment when my blood pressure was a little high and I was having a migraine headache. Because of these symptoms, my doctor ordered another round of blood work. My iron count for this round came back a little bit lower than at first, but still not low enough to be considered a worry. My doctor thought the headache and fatigue were because of my blood pressure and just a normal symptom of pregnancy.

Two weeks later when my doctor ordered another round of blood work to compare to the previous results, my iron was really low. She called me and told me to start taking iron pills again. This shocked me but it made sense when I thought about the fatigue I was having.

I started taking the iron pills and started having trouble with constipation. I have to say that isn't something that is fun in the last part of a pregnancy. To combat the constipation, my doctor told me to increase my daily fruit servings, drink fruit juice and eat more fiber. I have ulcerative colitis, so these aren't things I can normally do; however, when I am pregnant, my ulcerative colitis usually goes into a state of remission until shortly after delivery. I followed these suggestions and after a few days, I was over the constipation.

I continued taking the iron pills up until the day I delivered my son, July 4, 2010. Because I am breastfeeding my son, my doctor told me to keep taking the iron and prenatal vitamins to ensure that I am as healthy as possible.