What is the impact of anemia in pregnant women on childbirth?

When the fetus is in the mother's womb, it grows and develops by absorbing nutrients from the mother, so if there is a problem with the mother, it will directly affect the baby. What impact does anemia in pregnant women have on delivery? Anemia in pregnant women indicates that the body lacks nutrition, which can cause abnormal fetal development or hypoxia in the mother's body. Severe anemia may lead to premature birth or fetal stillbirth. Let's learn more about it.

1. What is the impact of anemia in pregnant women on the fetus?

Maternal anemia is a nutritional deficiency that occurs during pregnancy. The continuously developing baby will take away a large amount of nutrients from the mother's body, including serum iron. If the pregnant woman has pregnancy reactions or insufficient nutrition, especially divalent iron, during pregnancy, she will develop anemia. Because the fetus and the pregnant woman are competing for serum iron, the pregnant mother often shows her great maternal love and gives priority to the fetus in contributing nutrients. Therefore, in the early stages of anemia in pregnant women, it means that the fetus has "taken away" the serum iron in the pregnant mother's body without any hesitation. In other words, at this time, the anemia in the pregnant woman has not yet caused serious impact on the fetus. The effects of anemia in pregnant women on the fetus include: for example, fetal growth restriction, hypoxia caused by anemia, and the fetus is prone to fetal distress, premature birth or stillbirth. Anemia in pregnant women not only affects the health of the fetus, but also if it occurs during pregnancy, pregnant women with anemia are at a higher risk of suffering from preeclampsia than healthy mothers. If anemia in pregnant women occurs in the late pregnancy, the pregnant woman is prone to uterine atony during delivery, which may prolong the labor process. Anemia in pregnant women can also cause a decrease in resistance and postpartum lochia after delivery, which can slow down her recovery.

What are the effects of anemia in pregnant women on the fetus? Anemia is particularly threatening to pregnant women and fetuses. For example, severe anemia can cause fetal hypoxia, intrauterine growth retardation, premature birth, and even stillbirth. Considering the serious consequences, pregnant women must be wary of the occurrence of anemia. If they experience fatigue, weakness, dizziness, tinnitus, loss of appetite, indigestion, irritability, inability to concentrate, pale lips and oral mucosa, etc., they should consider whether they have anemia. By the time even the nails become thin, brittle, pale, and dull, you may already have severe anemia.

Pregnant women with anemia should supplement with more iron-containing foods, such as cooking soup with blood clots; steaming and crushing the liver and fish, and mixing them with rice noodles or porridge; or chopping lean meat, stir-frying it, and mixing it with porridge. If the iron deficiency is serious, you should see a doctor and take iron supplements under the doctor's guidance. Doctor Sun also reminded that because pregnant women secrete less gastric acid and have reduced digestion and absorption abilities, some pregnant women need to supplement vitamin C while taking iron supplements, but this must be done under the guidance of a doctor.