If you had mild anemia before pregnancy, you should improve this condition before getting pregnant again. Pre-pregnancy anemia can continue into the pregnancy. If it is mild anemia, you can eat foods rich in iron. If the anemia is severe, it is necessary to combine medication for treatment.
Foods richest in iron: liver, blood products, lean meat, red meat, red beans, black fungus, sesame paste.
Let's give you a few examples. For example, if you eat 100 grams of animal liver, it will provide you with how much iron. The recommended amount of iron during the middle stage of pregnancy is 28 milligrams per day. 100 grams of duck blood can provide us with 35.8 milligrams.
Chicken blood can provide us with 25 milligrams. Pig blood: 8.7 milligrams. 100 grams of duck liver can provide 35.1 milligrams of iron. 100 grams of pig liver: 12.6 milligrams.
Iron from animal sources is highly absorbed and utilized, not easily affected by external factors, and the absorption and utilization rate can reach 20% or even 30%. Iron from plant sources has a low absorption rate, generally less than 10%. Phytic acid, oxalic acid, and gastric acid in food have a great impact on absorption.
Therefore, we recommend focusing on animal sources for iron supplementation. Although animal liver contains abundant iron, it is not recommended to eat too much during pregnancy because it contains excessive vitamin A and cholesterol.
If you were anemic before pregnancy, it is recommended to start supplementing from pre-pregnancy. Regular iron supplementation of 30 milligrams per day should begin at 12 weeks of pregnancy. For pregnant women with pre-existing anemia, it is advisable to supplement with diet or diet combined with medication (the choice depends on the severity of anemia). Start supplementation as soon as pregnancy is confirmed and consider medication in addition to dietary supplementation. It is also important to determine if it is simply iron deficiency anemia. If the effect of iron supplementation alone is not good, consider other possible causes, such as deficiency of other nutrients like vitamin A, as they can affect each other. Therefore, simply supplementing iron may not yield good results.
