Anemia in pregnancy: just about complicated

Anemia or anemia is a complication of pregnancy, which occurs often enough. It is characterized by a decrease in the level of hemoglobin and the number of erythrocytes.

Diagnosis of anemia - the causes of the disease in pregnant women are usually the same - it is increased use of iron fetus, as well as inadequate compensation of the deficit of this substance through nutrition. Due to a lack of protein and vitamins in the diet, anemia may occur.

Signs of anemia in pregnancy

In most cases, anemia during pregnancy appears on the schedule after 20 weeks. To its attributes it is possible to carry:

• general deterioration of state of health( weakness, fatigue, dizziness);
• shortness of breath;
• heart palpitations.

Pregnant women complain of these symptoms with moderate or severe disease, anemia of 1 during pregnancy usually passes asymptomatically( the disease is detected after a blood test).

Anemia in pregnancy is divided into three degrees of severity, which are determined by the level of hemoglobin in the blood. At a mild degree the index is 110-90 g / l, with an average of 90-70 g / l, and for a heavy one - less than 70 g / l.

Anemia in pregnancy: the consequences of

On the question of how dangerous anemia is in pregnancy, you can definitely answer, the illness adversely affects both the course of pregnancy, and during childbirth and the postpartum period. This disease is often accompanied by late toxicosis - the probability of premature birth increases.

Anemia in pregnancy can lead to weakness in labor and the risk of increased blood loss. Also, the production of breast milk is reduced. For the fetus, maternal anemia threatens to delay development, as there is insufficient supply of nutrients and oxygen. In most cases this leads to the birth of a child with a low weight.

Anemia in infants most often occurs due to a lack of iron in the mother's body during pregnancy.

Anemia in pregnancy: diagnosis

For the diagnosis of a pregnant woman, you need to undergo a checkup in a women's consultation.

Specialists determine:

• the number of red blood cells and hemoglobin level, hematocrit, color index;
• content of iron and its metabolism, total protein and protein fractions.

Anemia in pregnancy: treatment of

For effective treatment of anemia it is important to know some rules:

• iron deficiency anemia during pregnancy is not treated only with the right diet that contains foods rich in iron. It is also very important to take iron preparations, since of them the substance is absorbed into the body of the pregnant woman 15-20 times more than from the food;
• diet should be complete and contain the necessary amount of vitamins, protein and iron. It is very useful to eat meat products. The diet for anemia looks like this: meat( 120-200 g) or fish( 150-250 g), egg, dairy products( up to 1 kg), fats( 80-100 g).Also, do not forget about vegetables and fruits, their daily volume of consumption is about 800 g, and they need to be eaten not only in cooked, but also in raw form. It can be carrots, cabbage, turnips or apples;
• iron preparations can be taken in the form of tablets or tablets. The most frequently used are actiferrin, tardiferron, ferrous sulfate, ferroplex, etc. Also, in the treatment of anemia, complex preparations can be used that contain not only iron but also other useful microelements and vitamins. For pregnant women, fenuels and pregnavit will be perfect. Injections of iron are used only for severe disease or intolerance of drugs intended for internal use;
• usually treatment of anemia with iron preparations takes a fairly long period, so you do not need to wait for a sharp improvement in the tests in the first days and even weeks of treatment. The level of hemoglobin will increase only at the end of the third week after the beginning of admission. However, it is worth noting that the general condition of a pregnant woman will improve much earlier;
• should not stop taking iron supplements after normalizing the hemoglobin level in the blood, as this does not mean that the iron stores in the female body have recovered. For treatment to be effective, after 2-3 months of therapy does not stop - you just need to reduce the dose of the drug in 2 times.

Prevention of anemia

Hemolytic anemia, as well as other types of anemia, requires prevention in pregnant women with a high probability of its development. These include:

• women who previously had anemia;
• of women with chronic infectious diseases or internal diseases in chronic form;
• large mothers;
• of pregnant women whose hemoglobin levels were lower than 120 g / L before the 12th week of pregnancy;
• of pregnant women with more than one fetus;
• pregnant with toxicosis;
• women, many years of having profuse menstruation, which lasted more than 5 days.

As a preventive measure, iron intake is prescribed in a small dosage( 1-2 tablets daily) for 6 months starting from the second trimester of pregnancy. In addition, pregnant in the daily diet should increase meat consumption.