34 weeks pregnant with Thalassemia minor and desperate for some solid advice

I am a 32 year old woman and am currently 34 weeks pregnant. After having experienced a miscarriage last year I am desperately seeking some solid advice. Living in South Africa it seems thal minor is not very well researched by doctors and I have been brushed off when complaining about extreme shortness of breath, numbness in hands and feet etc.
I have the thalassemia trait and have always been advised my entire life to avoid taking iron supplementation and for this reason did not take any pregnancy vitamins or iron during my pregnancy. I have only been taking 800mcg Folate daily.

My doctor has only now tested my iron and has found that I have an iron deficiency. (Hb 10.6 ; iron 5.7 ; transferrin 4.6 ; saturation 5 ; ferritin 5).
He immediately wanted to get me into an iron IV but I insisted that I first go and visit a haematologist.
The haematologist has prescribed me 100mg Ferrimed DS as well as vitamin C for 1 week and will then retest my levels to see if there is any shift. If not they will then put me on an iron IV.

Please may you help me and advise if you recommend this course of action and if it is safe for both me and my baby to be taking the oral iron supplements at this stage? Would it be better for me to have an IV instead from now?
My concern is also that my baby may also be a carrier of the thalassemia minor and I am now taking all this iron when she may not have an iron deficiency.
Please let me know what you think?
thank you so so much!!!

(We have communicated via email and this is the reply).

Hi Katerina,

Your iron stores are quite low. Your Hb is pretty good for this point in the pregnancy, considering the low iron. I do think you need more iron right now, but don't worry about the baby getting too much iron from you. That won't happen. One reason your iron is low is that iron is being diverted to the baby during the pregnancy. This is process well regulated  by your body. so there is no danger of too much iron for the baby. You are right that thal minors should not normally take iron, and I have recently communicated with a couple thal minors who have serious health issues after long term iron supplementation. But, thal minors can become iron deficient just like anyone else, so once iron studies show deficiency, short term supplements are appropriate. During pregnancy, many thal minors do need some iron, just as non-thals do. The vitamin C can help iron absorption, so that is a good combination. If you find iron does not agree with you, there is a natural form of iron called iron water, which is much easier for many people to take. If you search online for Spatone, you will find it. It's much easier on the stomach and readily absorbed.

One note. When pregnant, a much higher dose of folate is safe and effective. I have heard from thal minors who took as high as 10 mg daily during pregnancy and did very well. I just also received a message on Facebook yesterday from a woman who was tired all her life until she took very high doses of folate daily. She said that she has never felt better in her life. Folate is required to build red blood cells and I always recommend it in the form of L-methylfolate, rather than folic acid, as folate has been proven to be far more effective. I typically recommend 5 mg daily during pregnancy.

Best wishes to you on the birth of your baby.