Pregnancy Iron supplimentation for Beta thal minors

Hi all,

I'm 17 weeks pregnant and I was asked to take an Iron supplement with Ferrous Fumarate BP 152mg from 11th week.

My normal HB level never rose above 9.8 and around 11th week of pregnancy it was 8.9 so my Gynecologist asked me to take above iron supplement. Well I informed him about my beta thal state and he asked me to not to worry about it.....

Recently I decided to do an serum Iron & Feritin tests and compare new with my existing findings which was taken around 4 months before Iron supplementation and pregnancy. I can underhand taking Iron will not increase my HB level but just wanted to know whether the baby can benefit from taking iron... Also according to new tests my Iron level seems elevated and since I'm a thal minor want to know this could cause any health risk for both me and the baby. BTW I'm planing to visit my hematologist this coming Thursday and I value your opinions on this to the greatest!

Current Test values

Serum Iron - 119
Serum Ferritin - 54.5

Test results before pregnancy & Iron supplementation

Serum Iron - 63
Serum Ferritin - 69.5
   
   

The serum iron has risen but the ferritin dropped, so I would suggest continuing iron through the pregnancy, as it is important for the mother's health and indirectly the health of the baby. If your iron levels had been higher earlier in the pregnancy you might be able to stop the iron, but it's wise to make sure you have an adequate supply during the pregnancy because the blood volume does expand. I hope you are also taking folic acid and natural vitamin E while you are pregnant.

Thanks Andy... as always first to reply 

I'm taking Folic acid 5mg, But not aware of natural vitamin E... well, we get synthetic form in pharmacies but never heard of natural. I saw about clotting disorder from pregnancy threads here and interested about vit E. Too nervous to take anything synthetic outside Dr.'s prescription but if it is natural I'm more than happy Any idea of foods with high vit E

I was very leery of taking iron during pregnancy due to my thal minor as well.  I could not take it in pill form because it made me sick, upset stomach, puking etc.  Anyway in my 2nd trimester my hemoglobin continued to drop and I started having problems with lightheadedness, numb hands, shortness of breath.  I was referred to the hematologist and they did iron panels.  I don't remember extactly what everything was but the main point was I had a low iron store, I think it was a 7? And my binding numbers were high meaning my body was trying to get more iron.  The hematologist gave me iron infusions every other week to help with my levels for the baby and improve how I was feeling.  The further you get into pregnancy the more iron the baby will take from you making it almost impossible to get enough without supplementation (I tried all sorts of iron rich foods, including coco wheats 2-3 times a day).  The hematologist only gave me one iron unit/pack at a time to avoid a problem with the thal. I did feel quite better after these transfusions.  Hopefully your iron is up high enough where you don't have to do that, but I had no ill effects getting iron that way.  Also the week after I had my baby boy, my hemoglobin was still low but my iron was right back to normal so no more iron for me:)  Hope your pregnancy is going well!