Low ferritin level at 31st week of pregnancy

If a woman's diet is not nutritious in the later stages of pregnancy, it is likely to cause anemia in the pregnant woman. When a pregnant woman suffers from anemia, it will also affect the growth and development of the fetus in the body. Therefore, in the later stages of pregnancy, it is best for women to eat more spinach to supplement the iron in the body. You can also eat some animal liver or chicken blood or duck blood to improve the anemia of pregnant women.

In some hospitals, in addition to checking the hemoglobin level through blood routine tests, serum ferritin is also tested. Decreased serum ferritin indicates a decrease in iron storage, which has not yet reached the diagnosis of clinical iron deficiency anemia, but it is recommended to pay attention to iron supplementation.

Because if the pregnant mother's ferritin level is low, in addition to physiological reasons of pregnancy, it may also be caused by anemia. In addition, long-term diarrhea can also cause a decrease in ferritin. Pregnant mothers must pay more attention to it.

If the hemoglobin level in a routine blood test is not within the reference range, then iron supplements are needed in time to avoid premature birth, miscarriage, etc. If only the ferritin level is low, the mother should also pay attention to iron supplementation, which generally has little impact on the fetus, so don't worry.

Why is iron deficiency anemia common during pregnancy?

During pregnancy, blood volume increases by 50%, while red blood cells only increase by 20%, so hemoglobin is relatively diluted.

If you want to prevent the concentration of red blood cells from decreasing, you need to increase the hemoglobin in that part of the blood. Simply put, you need to supplement iron. If the supplement is insufficient, physiological anemia will occur.

How much iron does an expectant mother need?

Although iron is very important for mother and fetus, excessive intake can also have toxic side effects.

The above is a reference supplement amount. As long as the average level over a certain period of time (a week or a month) reaches the recommended amount, it will be sufficient.

In terms of the best time to supplement iron during pregnancy, it is best to start supplementing 3 to 6 months before pregnancy, mainly through food and iron supplements.

Food supplement

Animal foods containing heme iron are preferred because these foods have high iron content and a higher absorption rate than iron in non-animal foods, making them a good source of iron supplementation.

This type of food mainly includes: animal liver, whole blood (absorption rate of more than 22%), livestock and poultry meat, and fish (absorption rate of more than 11%, you can choose deep-sea fish rich in polyunsaturated acids, such as salmon, herring, etc.).

Some mothers may worry about the food safety of pig liver and pig blood. Indeed, when choosing ingredients, you should choose products that have passed inspection in large supermarkets, and livestock and poultry meat must be strictly boiled and sterilized when cooking.

In addition, animal liver contains a relatively high amount of vitamin A. Excessive intake can cause fetal malformations. Therefore, it is recommended to consume animal blood and liver 1-2 times a week, 20-50g each time, which can provide 7-15mg of iron.