Midwifery appointment update

Yesterday we had an appt. with our Midwifery team Stephanie Soderblom and Kate Cunningham. We actually were not supposed to see them again until Mar. 8 which would be closer to my 20 week mark but last time I was in I had my OB blood panel drawn and we found out that I was pretty severely anemic. My hemoglobin was at 8.0 which is very low. It should be around 12. Many women become anemic in pregnancy around 26-28 weeks because their blood volume increases so vastly that the hemoglobin becomes diluted. I was barely at 15 weeks and already well below the norm.

Because of this Stephanie suggested a particular iron supplement called Floradix which has been shown to improve iron deficiency anemia. She also asked me to add in (vitamin C. which helps iron absorption) and a sublingual b vitamin and asked me to come back after a few weeks of use to see if there is a change.

Well if you know me well then you know that the minute I got home from my appt. I pulled out all of my nutrition books and midwifery texts and started pouring over information about anemia and b vitamin deficiency. I made myself a list of things to avoid (phosphates for one---a preservative found in lunch meats and hotdogs which is notorious for blocking iron absorption) and things to add in such as high protein foods, green leafy vegetables and citrus and committed myself to improved nutrition. I confess up until then; despite the fact that I know better; (Note to clients: Do as I say not as I do!) I’d been slacking A LOT in the nutrition department.

Jump ahead to yesterday: Kate drew my blood again and this time everything came back in normal ranges. Whew! I am really glad to know that the nutritional changes and supplementation has been paying off and once again this was a testament to me about the importance of excellent nutrition in pregnancy.

I always say that everything that goes into your mouth in pregnancy should be of benefit to your body and your baby. Of course that is easier said than done when there are Ghirardelli chocolates left over from Valentines day on your nightstand. But truth be known I have found a balance there too. I think it’s important that those kind of indulgences just NEVER replace the things your body needs. In other words a Snickers bar does NOT count as lunch just because it has peanuts in it.

We will be watching this anemia thing closely and stay on top of the supplements that seem to be improving it...now if I could just stay hydrated...