What does anemia feel like during pregnancy? How much iron do you need to supplement in early pregnancy?

Due to physical changes during pregnancy, the blood volume of pregnant women will increase, but the red blood cells increase more slowly, and the blood of pregnant women is diluted. Therefore, under normal circumstances, pregnant women will have different degrees of anemia at different stages of pregnancy. This is a common problem. Let's take a look at how to supplement iron for anemia during pregnancy!

What does anemia during pregnancy feel like?

1. If the anemia is mild, there are no obvious symptoms in the body, and you need to go to the hospital for a special blood test to find out. If the blood test results show that the hemoglobin is below 10g/100ml, the red blood cell value is less than 30%, or the red blood cell count is less than 3.5 million/cubic millimeter, it means that pregnant women need to pay attention to iron supplementation.

2. If a pregnant woman often feels tired, sleepy, has no strength in the body, and has distracted attention, these are the earliest symptoms of anemia and are also the most common manifestations. If the anemia is severe, the woman may become unconscious or even faint.

3. If a pregnant woman is anemic, her complexion and mucous membranes are generally pale. Another thing to note is that it is generally believed that pale skin should be determined based on multiple factors such as the size of the palm and the color of the nail bed, which will be more accurate.

4. Palpitations are one of the more prominent symptoms of anemia. If anemia causes tachycardia, a soft murmur can be heard in the pulmonary valve area and the apex of the heart when the heart is in contraction. This is called anemic murmur. Murmurs can also be heard in the pulmonary valve area and the apex of the heart when the heart is in diastole. This is a more serious condition and requires attention.

How much iron do you need during early pregnancy?

Starting from the 6th week of pregnancy, the amount of plasma in the body's blood increases more than red blood cells, causing the blood to be diluted, making physiological anemia prone to occur. The daily iron intake at this stage is 15 mg/day. You can eat more animal foods such as fish, lean meat, liver, eggs, dried shrimp, and fresh vegetables. Pay attention to the combination of meat and vegetables, and eat more citrus fruits.

How much iron do you need during pregnancy?

During the 13th to 28th week of pregnancy, the daily iron intake for pregnant women is 25 mg. Since the main component of red blood cells is iron, in order to make up for the insufficient red blood cell content, additional iron is needed to produce more red blood cells. Pregnant women can eat more meat, liver and other foods rich in hemoglobin and iron, and supplement vitamin C to facilitate iron absorption.

How much iron do you need during late pregnancy?

During the 29th to 40th week of pregnancy, it is more important for pregnant women to supplement iron. The daily iron intake should reach 28 mg. During this stage, the fetal liver stores iron at a rate of 5 mg per day until it reaches 300-400 mg of iron at birth. Pregnant women also need to prepare iron for blood loss during childbirth and breastfeeding. During this period, they should continue to eat more iron-rich foods and ingest hemoglobin-type iron from animal foods. In addition, they can supplement iron under the guidance of a doctor.