{"id":1684,"date":"2022-07-27T14:02:15","date_gmt":"2022-07-27T14:02:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/womens-care-of-bradenton\/?p=1684"},"modified":"2025-09-22T11:28:57","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T15:28:57","slug":"how-low-hemoglobin-levels-can-affect-your-pregnancy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/womens-care-of-bradenton\/blog\/how-low-hemoglobin-levels-can-affect-your-pregnancy\/","title":{"rendered":"How Low Hemoglobin Levels Can Affect Your Pregnancy?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hemoglobin is a red blood cells&#8217; protein that transports oxygen within the body. When a person has low hemoglobin levels, that also means that they have a low level of oxygen in the body. Usually, when this happens, the diagnosis at hand is called anemia. Anemia means that you do not have enough healthy red blood cells and must start taking steps to alleviate your condition.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In general, some types of anemia are prevalent, and they are treated in a simple manner. Still, when you have anemia in pregnancy, that brings this particular problem to another level. Your baby can be in danger due to the low amount of oxygen received on a daily basis and suffer from different consequences later on.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">High-risk<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/womens-care-of-bradenton\/obstetrician-bradenton-florida\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> pregnancy management<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> is of the utmost importance when it comes to any type of irregularities during your pregnancy, and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/womens-care-of-bradenton\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Women&#8217;s care of Bradenton<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> is the place where you can find every possible kind of service to make your pregnancy as enjoyable as possible and make you as a future mother and your child as healthy as you can be.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Who Can Suffer From Anemia During Pregnancy?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Some persons are more at risk than others when it comes to having anemia in pregnancy. This includes:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Persons who have celiac or Crohn&#8217;s disease<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Persons whose dietary choices do not include meat or dairy (vegetarians, vegans)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Persons who had two pregnancies back to back<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Persons who are expecting twins, triplets, etc.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Persons who often vomit due to morning sickness<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Persons who experienced heavy bleeding during their periods<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Persons who do not take enough iron and other supplements during the pregnancy\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Persons who suffered from this condition before the pregnancy<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Persons who are teenagers and pregnant<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1686 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/womens-care-of-bradenton\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/08\/Who-Can-Suffer-From-Anemia-During-Pregnancy.jpg\" alt=\"Young Vomiting Woman Near Sink in Bathroom\" width=\"1000\" height=\"673\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/womens-care-of-bradenton\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/08\/Who-Can-Suffer-From-Anemia-During-Pregnancy-200x135.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/womens-care-of-bradenton\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/08\/Who-Can-Suffer-From-Anemia-During-Pregnancy-300x202.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/womens-care-of-bradenton\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/08\/Who-Can-Suffer-From-Anemia-During-Pregnancy-400x269.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/womens-care-of-bradenton\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/08\/Who-Can-Suffer-From-Anemia-During-Pregnancy-600x404.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/womens-care-of-bradenton\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/08\/Who-Can-Suffer-From-Anemia-During-Pregnancy-768x517.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/womens-care-of-bradenton\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/08\/Who-Can-Suffer-From-Anemia-During-Pregnancy-800x538.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/womens-care-of-bradenton\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/08\/Who-Can-Suffer-From-Anemia-During-Pregnancy.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><b>Causes of Anemia During Pregnancy<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">As mentioned, there are several types of anemia a person can suffer from, but during pregnancy, the following types are the most common:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Iron-deficiency anemia<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Pregnancy-related anemia\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Folate-deficiency anemia<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Vitamin B12 deficiency anemia<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Anemia from blood loss during and after delivery\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">When it comes to iron-deficiency anemia, it occurs because your infant is using your red blood cells to develop, and the body does not have enough iron to produce new amounts of hemoglobin. Pregnancy hemoglobin levels are a great indicator to show whether your body has enough oxygen and supplements to function correctly. Low iron in pregnancy can cause severe complications if it is not cured on time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Pregnancy-related anemia is closely connected to the volume of blood in the body, which increases during pregnancy, so more vitamins and iron are needed to make more red blood cells. It is actually quite normal to have mild anemia when pregnant, but the levels need to be monitored often. This is also directly tied to low iron in pregnancy, so it is essential to be mindful of pregnancy hemoglobin levels.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Folate deficiency during pregnancy relates to the amount of folate in the body. Folate is actually vitamin B which helps iron to make cells grow. Again, if the folate levels are not high enough in the body, this can cause iron deficiency and low hemoglobin in pregnancy. Sometimes women do not get enough folate from food, so they have to take folic acid supplements.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lastly, vitamin B12 deficiency, as the name itself says, represents a low level of B12 vitamin in the body during pregnancy. This vitamin helps create red blood cells and protein, so it is crucial to have healthy levels of this particular vitamin in the body generally, but especially during pregnancy. It can be found in meat and dairy, so persons who are, for example, strict vegans are advised to take B12 shots and supplementation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Symptoms of Anemia in Pregnancy<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Some symptoms will help you recognize that your hemoglobin levels are low and that you need to visit a doctor. The most common symptoms of anemia in pregnancy are:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Paleness (lips, skin, nails, palms)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Fatigue<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Feeling of weakness<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Dizziness\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Vertigo or a sensation of spinning<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Short breath<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Tachycardia or fast heartbeat\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lack of focus and concentration\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">These symptoms do sound like symptoms for many other conditions, so it is imperative to consult your chosen healthcare professional when you experience these signs during your pregnancy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Diagnosis\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A simple blood test will help your doctor diagnose anemia, and other tests such as a hemoglobin or a hematocrit test will help the medical professional measure the amount of hemoglobin and the percentage of red blood cells in the body. Also, measuring the level of iron helps determine different types of anemia. If all these parameters are normal at the beginning of the pregnancy, you might be advised to recheck them during later stages.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Consequences of Low Hemoglobin Pregnancy\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">When the anemia during pregnancy is severe, and you do not treat it, there are a few possible outcomes that can occur:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">You can give birth to a low-birth-weight infant<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Your baby might arrive much earlier<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If you lose a lot of blood during the delivery, you might need a blood transfusion<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">You can experience postpartum depression<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Your post-delivery recovery might be slower\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Your child can have obstacles and delays during later development<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Your baby can also have anemia<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Your baby can develop congenital disabilities of the spine or brain caused by low folate levels<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Make sure that you check your red blood cells and hemoglobin levels regularly to avoid complications such as these at any stage of your pregnancy or delivery.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1687 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/womens-care-of-bradenton\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/08\/Consequences-of-Low-Hemoglobin-Pregnancy-.jpg\" alt=\"Hand With Gloves Holds a Blood Probe\" width=\"1000\" height=\"667\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/womens-care-of-bradenton\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/08\/Consequences-of-Low-Hemoglobin-Pregnancy--200x133.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/womens-care-of-bradenton\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/08\/Consequences-of-Low-Hemoglobin-Pregnancy--300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/womens-care-of-bradenton\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/08\/Consequences-of-Low-Hemoglobin-Pregnancy--400x267.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/womens-care-of-bradenton\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/08\/Consequences-of-Low-Hemoglobin-Pregnancy--600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/womens-care-of-bradenton\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/08\/Consequences-of-Low-Hemoglobin-Pregnancy--768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/womens-care-of-bradenton\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/08\/Consequences-of-Low-Hemoglobin-Pregnancy--800x534.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/womens-care-of-bradenton\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/08\/Consequences-of-Low-Hemoglobin-Pregnancy-.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><b>How to Prevent and Treat Anemia in Pregnancy<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Generally, it is not too complicated to prevent anemia during pregnancy. Here are some potential steps you can take:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Eat well-balanced meals<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Add more foods high in iron (red meat, poultry, fish, spinach, broccoli, beans, lentils, tofu, nuts, eggs, and alike)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Add foods high in vitamin C to help your body absorb iron (citrus fruits, kiwis, tomatoes, bell peppers, etc.)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Add foods high in folate (leafy green vegetables, dried beans, bread and cereal with folic acid, citrus fruits)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Take prenatal vitamins prescribed by your doctor (especially if your diet is vegetarian or vegan)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If your prevention tactics did not work and you are diagnosed with anemia in pregnancy, here are some ways to treat your condition, depending on the reason and severity of the diagnosis:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Start taking iron, folate (folic acid), and B12 supplements with your prenatal vitamins.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Add more foods that are high in iron and folate.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Test yourself often to check your hemoglobin and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mayoclinic.org\/tests-procedures\/hematocrit\/about\/pac-20384728\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">hematocrit<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> levels<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Include more animal food in your diet, such as meat, eggs, and dairy products.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In more severe cases, a hematologist (a doctor who treats anemia and other blood issues) might be involved to help your chosen doctor treat the condition as efficiently as possible.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>At Your Disposal\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Anemia in pregnancy can be very exhausting and challenging. Aside from taking care of all other aspects of the pregnancy and your body, this additional issue is not something anyone wishes to take on. To help you with this, we have created a team of experts and a friendly, welcoming environment, so contact us and let us support you!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hemoglobin is a red blood cells&#8217; protein that transports oxygen within the body. When a person has low hemoglobin levels, that also means that they have a low level of oxygen in the body. Usually, when this happens, the diagnosis at hand is called anemia. Anemia means that you do not have enough healthy red<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1685,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[406,173],"tags":[407,411,408,410,409],"class_list":["post-1684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-low-hemoglobin-levels","category-pregnancy","tag-anemia-in-pregnancy","tag-low-hemoglobin-pregnancy","tag-low-iron-in-pregnancy","tag-pregnancy-hemoglobin-levels","tag-symptoms-of-anemia-in-pregnancy"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/womens-care-of-bradenton\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1684","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/womens-care-of-bradenton\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/womens-care-of-bradenton\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/womens-care-of-bradenton\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/womens-care-of-bradenton\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1684"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/womens-care-of-bradenton\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1684\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/womens-care-of-bradenton\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1685"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/womens-care-of-bradenton\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/womens-care-of-bradenton\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/womens-care-of-bradenton\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}