Eating Anemia Out
Reported January 08, 2009
“Our bodies take a long time to replenish such heavy loss of iron. Pregnant women particularly need more iron to cope with the demands of the growing baby and placenta, says Vasundhara Singh, assistant dietician, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi.”
A study released by Harvard Health Centre in November 2008, confirms that iron deficiency anemia is quite prevalent in pregnant women. Women, who are in their reproductive age, are especially prone to this ailment due to the monthly loss of blood from menstruation, besides other effects of pregnancy.
Understanding anemia:
Anemia is the inability of the red blood cells to carry sufficient oxygen. This is often attributed to an abnormally low level of hemoglobin. This is the iron-imbued, protein-based pigment in our blood cells that carry oxygen from the lungs to cells throughout the body.
“Poor food choices and lack of iron and vitamin B-12 in the diet lead to anemia. Conditions such as pregnancy, diarrhea, intestinal disease and mal-absorptive diseases increase the need for Fe, B-12 and folate, which are important nutrients to prevent anemia”, says Smitha Suresh, clinical dietician at Nexicon-Health, Dallas, United States.
Normally, the recommended daily intake of iron for an adult woman is 18mg per day. During pregnancy, this increases to 27mg per day, due to the rise in maternal blood volume. Additional iron is for your baby, for the first few months.
Beside, having low iron stores, the risk of developing anemia during pregnancy, may also increase if you are suffering from frequent vomiting due to morning sickness, shorter than ideal time gap between two pregnancies, or if you are carrying twins or multiples. Even if you had a heavy menstrual flow prior to pregnancy you can be on a risk of having Anemia.
Since generally, women do have low iron stores, it has become a standard practice to evaluate them for anemia right at the first prenatal appointment. Evaluation requires two blood tests. These tests are repeated then between the 24th and 28th week of your pregnancy, as it is more likely that a woman will develop anemia later in pregnancy.
Risk to the Baby
Experiencing anemia during the first or second trimester increases your risk of preterm labor, while your baby is more likely to be born with a low birth weight. Women, who develop a severe iron deficiency, increase their childs risk of developing anemia during infancy.
In addition to, making you feel exhausted and lowering your bodys ability to fight illness, developing anemia late in pregnancy may also cause problems when you give birth, particularly if you end up losing a lot of blood. Anemia increases the chances of blood transfusion and can produce symptoms that require you to stay in the hospital a bit longer after birth.
Getting rid of it
Iron is the most needed nutrient to nip anemia from its bud. There are many iron rich foods that make up a healthy diet. Tofu, eggs, leafy green vegetables, legumes, broccoli, whole-grain bread, iron-fortified cereals and dried fruits like raisins, dates and apricots are all wholesome iron rich foods.
For non-vegetarians, fish, red meat and poultry can be added to the diet. One must remember that the body easily absorbs iron from meat sources than non-flesh sources. To help with iron absorption from non-flesh foods, have a glass of orange juice or eat another source of food that is high in Vitamin C, along with your iron rich food.
Consuming too much vitamin A during pregnancy has been linked to birth defects. This is why many women are advised to avoid getting extra vitamin A, while they are pregnant. However, it is also important to note that there are actually two forms of vitamin A: retinol and beta-carotene. Beta-carotene sources of vitamin A are thought to be safe during pregnancy while retinol is not.
It must be understood that if you are healthy, only then can you give birth to a healthy baby. Therefore, to do so, you must try to eat right. As was rightly said by Greek physician, Hippocrates, Let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food.
