Iron is essential for women, and its requirement more than doubles during pregnancy. Iron deficiency during pregnancy can cause a variety of complications.
Pregnant women require additional iron since their blood supply grows by up to 50% during pregnancy.
Iron is required for the production of red blood cells in the body. Increased blood supply necessitates the production of more red blood cells, which necessitates the consumption of more iron.
Iron deficiency
Anemia can occur as a result of a shortage of iron in the body, which can be risky for both the mother and the foetus during pregnancy.
As a result, the baby is at risk of being born prematurely and with a low birth weight. Include iron-rich foods in your diet if you want to stay healthy during pregnancy and ensure your baby’s optimum development.
Pregnant women commonly have a mild iron deficiency in their bodies. Iron deficiency anaemia is the most common of all anemias, and its cause is primarily due to a lack of iron intake, which is why a gynaecologist will usually recommend a supplement of this mineral after a blood test to check it.
Anemia in pregnancy, if not treated properly, increases the risk of preterm birth, foetal deficiencies, low birth weight, and, in the most severe cases, postpartum maternal mortality.
Symptoms of Anaemia
Anemia symptoms include fatigue, drowsiness, and fatigue, but these are very common symptoms in pregnancy, so an analysis is the best way to know. Paleness, tachycardia, shortness of breath, and decreased concentration are also common, but these symptoms are often missed or misdiagnosed as typical of pregnancy.
Why do you require iron?
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends that pregnant women eat a balanced diet and pay special attention to daily requirements for certain nutrients. Iron and folic acid are the most important of these.
When you are pregnant, your body requires twice as much iron as it normally does. This is due to the fact that iron is required for the extra red blood cells that your body will produce for your baby.
Red blood cells transport oxygen to your organs, tissues, and foetus.
Iron is important during your pregnancy but is even more important in the second and third trimesters. Since the body doesn’t actually produce iron, you have to get it from food and supplements.
How much iron is needed in pregnancy
During pregnancy, women require twice as much iron as they did before. Women of reproductive age require approximately 18 mg of iron per day. Pregnant women require 27 mg of iron.
A pregnant woman requires 30 to 60 mg of iron per day, according to the World Health Organization.
Best iron rich Foods for pregnancy to Increase Iron Levels
What Foods to Take to Increase Iron Levels
Here are some best iron-rich foods for pregnancy (For Pregnant women with anaemia)
1. Iron is abundant in animal-derived foods such as beef, eggs, fish, mussels, cockles, and clams (always well cooked and never raw). These foods are high in heme iron, which is absorbed much better, accounting for approximately 15% of total iron intake.
2. Legumes, cereals, nuts, and green leafy vegetables are examples of plant foods. They contain non-heme iron, which is absorbed at a lower rate than heme iron, only 5%, because they contain natural substances that trap the mineral and prevent its use, such as phylates and oxalates, which act as antinutrients.
Foods enriched with this mineral.
5 tips for making better use of iron
Eat meat or fish at least once a day: in addition to being foods rich in iron, their proteins help assimilate the iron that comes from plant foods.
1. Finish with a fruit dessert: Fruits high in vitamin C aid in the absorption of iron from the first and second dishes. Finish your meal with a citrus fruit, such as orange, kiwi, or tangerine, or with strawberries, custard apples, raspberries, or papaya…
2. Don’t forget the garnish: red peppers and tomatoes are high in vitamin C, which aids the body’s absorption of iron from other foods.
3. Dairy products, best consumed between meals. Calcium inhibits the absorption of iron. As a result, it is best to consume yoghurts, puddings, custards, etc. outside of main meals.
4. No tea , no coffee or cocoa drinks to finish a meal. Tannins from tea decrease absorption by more than 60% and those from coffee by 40%. The oxalic acid in cocoa also limits the availability of iron.
How much iron does food have?
To compare the amount of iron provided by foods of animal origin (heme) and those of plant origin (non-heme), consider the following:
1. 100 grams of beef contains 3 to 6 milligrams of iron but the useful contribution is only between 0.5 to 0.9 milligrams.
2. 100 gr. of poultry contain 1.5 milligrams of iron, useful only 0.2 milligrams.
3. 100 gr. of spinach contain 2 to 4 milligrams of iron but the useful contribution is reduced to 0.04 to 0.010 milligrams.
4. 100 gr. of soy meat contain 6 milligrams of iron but its useful contribution to the body is 0.4 milligrams.
Iron supplements can be of great assistance.
A woman’s blood contains approximately 1,000 milligrammes of iron. However, during pregnancy, blood volume increases in order to create the placenta, the baby… as well as the iron stores A pregnant woman’s diet should contain between 10 and 18 milligrammes of iron per day.
This is why pregnant women with anaemia must eat iron-rich foods, but she will also require iron supplements that are completely safe during pregnancy and lactation.
It is true that they often cause some disorders such as nausea, constipation or diarrhea, stomach pain … In these cases, treatment should not be abandoned.
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