Can any dose of Iron increase the Hb level in Thalassemia minor pregnant woman??

I was recently diaganosed with Thalassemia Beta trait in my 19th week of pregnancy. During my first pregnancy I was having low hemoglobin levels and was given iron injections during the last trimester. The Hg level rose sufficiently , but I am so confused to understand if that worked then why is it that iron is not recommeded.Also if someone can guide me to deal with my pregnancy with a suitable diet. Thanks.

When a woman is pregnant her iron needs rise because her blood has to supply the fetus too. The actual blood volume increases by around 25%. Because of this, many women including some thal minors, need iron supplementation during pregnancy to provide the extra iron that is needed for this added blood volume. The reason this won't help raise your hemoglobin levels when you're not pregnant is that if you aren't actually iron deficient, it won't do you any good, because it isn't a lack of iron causing the anemia. It is a lack of normal red blood cells and adding more iron won't change this. Folic acid will have a far better affect on this than iron will.

A high protein diet is recommended during pregnancy. Also, make sure your diet is balanced and you get plenty of fruit and vegtables, and also plenty of liquids, especially water. A multivitamin is also usually recommended. And folic acid is universally recommended for both thals and women who are pregnant.

Thanks a lot big brother, My doc also stopped my iron capsules and gave me multivitamins today in addition to folic acid..

i dicide to say somthing here but the BIG BROTHER ((we can call him Dr.Andy)) he said everything so what am going to add here also some frish food and a lot of water and don't forget the frish vegetable

                                            khalifa
                                      state of kuwait

Thanks Dr.Andy and Mr. Khalifa,
 I am following your guidelines and am into vegetables, fruits and juices all fresh...made at home also water..I was just wondering as pregnancy progresses will my Doc Monitor the Hemoglobin level or ferritin test...How will she deal in delivery with very low HB. Also can you help me understand hematocrit?
Thanks
 

Hi,

Your hematocrit will be regularly checked throughout your pregnancy as are your sugar levels.

To answer your question about hematocrit:

From http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003646.htm

The hematocrit is the percent of whole blood that is composed of red blood cells. The hematocrit is a measure of both the number of red blood cells and the size of red blood cells.

The hematocrit is almost always ordered as part of a complete blood count, which measures the number of red blood cells, the number of white blood cells, the total amount of hemoglobin in the blood, and the fraction of the blood composed of red blood cells (hematocrit).

I would like to ask moms on this group to answer this question about transfusing during pregnancy. Is it occasionally needed in thal minors' pregnancies?

Andy -

I was transfused in my third trimester to increase my hematocrit and hemoglobin, as well as my B12, which was absolutely depleted.  The hematologist says this is becoming increasingly common in thal minor pregnancies when the mother starts out with low levels.

Courtenay,

I am really glad to hear that doctors are beginning to recognize that thal minor can cause problems, especially in pregnancy. With proper preparation, even the most dangerous and difficult cases, can be successfully managed as your pregnancy was. The time has certainly come for proper classification of minor as one gene beta thal with symptoms, as opposed to thalassemia minima, which is one gene beta with no apparent symptoms.

Your case should be used as a model on how to handle pregnancies involving both beta thal and HbC genes. The doctors did a wonderful job and this experience may save the lives of other women in future pregnancies.