Hello Parents,
Everyone needs a balanced diet that includes each food group. Even more so for a pregnant woman, because she needs to provide all the construction materials for her developing baby. Iron is an essential element to optimise the baby’s development and growth during pregnancy, and they get it from their mother. So you should know that diet is critical during the preparation for birth.
In this article:
What does iron do during pregnancy?
Iron is an integral component a future mother needs to absorb to avoid pregnancy anemia. It serves to transport oxygen in the blood to the body’s issues to fulfill their functions—growth, infection resistance, healing, etc.
If the future mother isn’t getting enough iron, she may feel severe fatigue and exhaustion due to the progressive arrival of anemia. She may be paler and more sensitive to infections, as her condition weakens her immune system. Also, don’t forget that the pregnant woman who lacks iron in her system during pregnancy risks giving birth to a low-weight baby.
Pregnancy is a period of high growth when iron needs increase to meet those of both mother and baby. Due to the increase in a pregnant woman’s blood volume, it automatically creates a physiological dilution of the iron in her blood which may cause anemia. To compensate for this change due to motherhood, women need to take more iron.
It’s difficult to meet the desired amounts only through diet. This is why we suggest that pregnant women take daily iron supplements in multivitamins containing between 16 mg and 20 mg of iron. This is in addition to a diet rich in iron to meet the 27 mg daily requirement during pregnancy.
If you would like some hints to increase your iron, go to the next article How Can You Increase Iron Absorption?
