Along with pregnancy comes a slew of other problems and one of these is anemia during pregnancy.
hough pregnancy for women is a cause of profound joy and unparalleled happiness, it is moreover a very difficult time in their lives. There might be several health issues that accompany pregnancy and one of this is anemia. Anemia during pregnancy is very usual and affects a lot of women. This article will try and explore what anemia during pregnancy is, what it does to a woman’s health, and what one can do to make anemia during pregnancy easier to deal with. So if you’re planning on getting pregnant shortly or have just conceived, read the following article to find out more about this state and its signs and symptoms.
It becomes imperative that one takes especially satisfactory care of their health during pregnancy. That is why it is substancial to know whether one is anemic, so that it can be taken care of early on, because if this is not done, it can lead to a lot of complications. How does anemia during pregnancy take place?
Anemia During Pregnancy – Explained
Anemia during pregnancy takes place because the production of the red blood cells becomes less. Red blood cells are extremely substancial for our functioning because they are responsible for transporting oxygen from the lungs to all other parts of the body. Therefore, if there is less production of red blood cells, then the body cannot function as well as it should. During pregnancy the production of the red blood cells should increase so that it can provide for the mother and the baby, when this does not happen, it guides to anemia during pregnancy.
Anemia during pregnancy is more usual than you’d like to believe. Women are basically more prone to being anemic than men, because they lose blood (and thereby iron) during menstruation. So if a woman is basically anemic and has done nothing to correct that condition, she is at a higher risk of having severe anemia during pregnancy. Even if women are not anemic, they might develop anemia during pregnancy. Let us learn a little something about the types of anemia that one can suffer from during pregnancy.
Types of Anemia During Pregnancy
There are mainly two types of anemia in pregnancy, that one can experience. They are as follows:
Iron Deficiency Anemia
Iron deficiency anemia is the most usual form of anemia that affect pregnant women. This type of anemia during pregnancy, is brought about due to a decline in the hemoglobin levels in the blood. The hemoglobin levels go down automatically because of an increase in the blood volume – which increases by about 45 percent during a woman’s pregnancy. This happens because of an increase in the blood plasma (fluid portion of blood). During the first half of the pregnancy, the levels of blood plasma increase more rapidly than the volumes of red blood cells and therefore a distinct drop of red blood cell count in the body can be seen. If there is not enough iron to fuel the red blood cells, then anemia during pregnancy is the direct result.
It is very difficult to increase the levels of iron dramatically during pregnancy because the body needs twice the amount of iron than it did before. Changing one’s diet to include iron-rich food will no doubt help, yet it will probably not be enough. In such a case, the mother-to-be might be asked to take iron supplements in accompaniment of a healthy diet.
Illness or Disease
There are mainly two types of diseases that can cause anemia during pregnancy, they are:
Sickle-Cell Anemia: Sickle cell anemia is caused by the production of abnormal hemoglobin in the body. Due to which, the red blood cells develop a ‘C’ shape (Sickle shape). These abnormal cells do not have the ability to last as long as the normal red blood cells do and they usually collapse after 15-20 days. It is impossible for the bone marrow to make new red blood cells swift enough in order to replace the dying ones. And that causes anemia during pregnancy.
Thalassemia: Thalassemia is not as usual as the sickle cell condition. In this condition, the body does not produce the required amounts of protein that make up the red blood cells and therefore the quality of the red blood cells is severely affected. Thus leading to anemia during pregnancy.
The other reasons that could lead to anemia during pregnancy are the deficiency of folic acid or Vitamin B12. Now that you know what anemia during pregnancy entails, take care of your health and see that you do not let this state affect you. Being aware of the risks and thereby avoiding them, is the most effective way of dealing with the problem.
