Pregnancy and epogen

Hi,
My daughter is 5 months pregnant with her second child.  Her Hgb is 8.6. The doctor wants to put her on epogen.  They tell her without it she could die.  They worry about not enough red blood cell when she delivers.  Her first pregnancy her Hgb was at 9.5.  She did very well.  I worry about the epogen with all the dangers it can pose.  Does any one have any information on the effects of epogen on pregnant Thal patients?  Any information will be helpful.
Thanks,
Barbara

Epogen is OK but is it really necessary? Many thal minors experience a drop in Hb during pregnancy, but nothing is done unless it drops below 8. The experience related here from moms is that the most important thing is folic acid, and a very high dose of 5-10 mg daily. The most successful thal minor pregnancies follow this practice. Folic acid is needed to build red blood cells and is the most important need, surpassing the need for iron, which may or may not be needed.

I do agree with Andy for Folic acid also i suggest that natural fruit like Pomegranate and Carrot Juice also help to increase hemglobin during pregnancy.

Regards
Sushil Thakur