Severe anemia in pregnancy treatment knowledge is a must for all soon-to-be moms and their families.
Pregnancy is a sensitive time for a woman. During this time, her body needs to produce more blood than usual because of the need for the baby that she’s carrying. There are times when the mother’s body fails to produce a sufficient amount of good blood. That would cause anemia.
People need to remember that, anemia is the low level of blood or a vital element of blood inside a person. Having anemia can result in complexities- it may even cause death to either or both mother and baby.
The main reason behind anemia during pregnancy is the lack of or a few certain elements in the blood. Depending on the element lacking, anemia can be identified as three deficiencies-
- Iron deficiency
- Vitamin B12 deficiency
- Folate deficiency
In the next part, we’ll discuss the natural ways to treat these deficiencies.
All that one needs to about anemia in pregnancy treatment:
Protocol & How to deal with anemia caused by iron deficiency during pregnancy
Iron is the responsible element for creating hemoglobin. Apart from the medical treatment (which is supposed to come from the experts only; please don’t go for medical treatments without a doctor’s prescription!), the diet chart of a to-be-mom plays a vital role in anemia treatment.
Let’s take a look at the foods that can help your blood with more iron:
- Poultry foods are a great source of iron. Be it meat or egg. But, if you’re allergic to egg or red meat l, avoid that. If you’re maintaining a diabetic diet plan (as pregnancy diabetes is common these days), skip the egg yolk.
- Taro stem is probably the most underrated iron-rich food. Not a lot of people know about this. This tropical plant can be eaten only after going through three phases- boiling, straining the water, and cooking well. This is a popular recipe in India and Bangladesh. Again, the taro stem can trigger allergic reactions. So, even though this food is super rich in iron; you need to avoid it if you’re allergic.
- All sorts of leafy vegetables– spinach for example are super good to increase hemoglobin levels. Make sure to eat a lot of green, to-be-moms!
- Button mushrooms can be eaten deep fried, with mixed vegetables, in soup, and humans in hundreds of other recipes. No matter how you eat, button mushrooms are always delicious. Guess what? They too are rich in iron. Such a tasty way to fill the need for iron for a pregnant mom!
- Dark chocolates are not just a desert- it is in fact, are a great source of iron! And, they help reduce cramps too! So, for pregnant moms who are at risk of iron deficiency, adding a small piece of dark chocolate to your meals can help both you and your baby.
- There are a lot of foods that are rich in iron. Bananas, apples, and olives are just a few of them. Eating at least one fruit every day drastically reduces the chance of anemia in a pregnant woman.
- Peas and beans are yet another source of precious iron. These veg proteins are easy to cook, taste good, and have high nutritions as well as high amounts of iron.
- Very simple yet effective diet treatment for anemia during pregnancy is to eat iron-fortified cereals. Because of being fortified, they have the exact amount of iron that a pregnant mother’s body needs.
Iron deficiency can result in severe anemia. In case of severe anemia in pregnancy treatment, one must contact the doctor as soon as possible.
Precautions and treatments for vitamin B12 deficiency
Vitamin B12 deficiency can result in anemia, it can cause health issues with the baby as well. Some easy diet plans might become a good treatment against this trouble.
Let’s take a look-
- Soya chunks are not only a great source of proteins, but they also contain a high amount of vitamin B12 too! Not to mention that they taste amazing as well. For pregnant mothers suffering from B12 deficiency anemia, adding soya to their daily diet would bring some good results.
- Low-fat milk is a literal combination of all the basic nutrition elements. They contain a high amount of vitamin B12. While you’re pregnant, you might not like the smell of milk; but it would be a suggestion, please drink it regularly to keep the baby safe. Drinking milk will reduce the chance of getting anemic.
- Yogurt is another source of vitamin B12. As a pregnant mom, you might have troubles with your metabolism at times. Know that yogurt helps your metabolism in a good way. But what’s more important is- they provide you with enough vitamin B12. A small cup of yogurt at the end of the meals or as snacks can do wonders.
- Low-fat cheese (only the pasteurized ones) can help with vitamin B12 too. But please keep it in mind, you can eat pasteurized cheese only. Non pasteurized foods are harmful to the baby.
- Did you know that fortified cereals have vitamin B12 fortification as well? Yes, they too are super good to fight anemia during pregnancy.
At this point, let’s remind you something again- non pasteurized dairy products are at high risk to get bacteria attacks. And of course, while choosing the foods, consider your health and conditions.
How to respond to folate deficiency
Folate deficiency is another reason behind anemia. It occurs when your body doesn’t get enough food with folic acid. In this section, we’ll provide a list of names of the foods that can help with folate deficiency.
- Vegetables- like broccoli, cauliflower, and brussels sprout, are rich in folic acid. This is why a pregnant mom should eat a lot of vegetables. That is to prevent folate deficiency as well as keep the baby healthy.
- Kidney beans contain a huge amount of folate. Nicely cooked kidney beans to the meals will surely help the soon-to-be mom and her baby.
- Sunflower seeds are another great source of this element. They can be a nice replacement for chips. Eating sunflower seeds as snacks is both mouth-watering and nutritious. That can help to prevent anemia during pregnancy.
- Yes, fortified cereals have folate fortification too! Why not try all sorts of fortified cereals at breakfast and get you anemia in pregnancy treatment naturally.
A lot of people might tell you that livers are a great source of folate and iron- which is true. Yet, we’re discouraging you from eating livers. They’re not good for pregnancy.
Well, here was it all. We hope that the guidelines for anemia in pregnancy treatment have been helpful to you.
And, please do remember that we are not providing any medical suggestions as this job should be done by the professional only, that too when you meet them in person. If you feel any complexities, please contact a doctor as soon as possible.
And unless an accident occurs, keep following the diet plan accordingly.
