How do I know if I am low in iron after having a baby?
Feeling tired and generally low is sometimes a sign that you're not getting enough iron.
The trouble is, most new mums feel tired. And you may be feeling low because of the baby blues, or the many challenges that caring for a newborn brings.
It's normal to be a bit low in iron after giving birth. Birth, and the vaginal bleeding (lochia) that happens for the first six weeks, leaves most new mums lower in iron.
However, your iron levels are likely to return to normal as your body recovers from birth, provided you are eating a balanced diet with plenty of iron-rich foods.
It's important that you keep up your iron levels. Your body needs iron to produce haemoglobin, which stores and carries oxygen in your red blood cells.
Being too low in iron can affect your mood, and this may make it harder for you bond with your baby.
Iron deficiency can make you feel short-tempered and irritable, and become more vulnerable to postnatal depression. Tiredness can also make breastfeeding more difficult.
Eating plenty of iron-rich foods will help you to rebuild your body's stores of iron. There are two sorts of iron-rich foods:
Vitamin C helps your body to absorb the non-haem iron in meals. Drinking orange juice or eating vitamin C-rich fruit and veg, such as peppers or kiwi fruit at mealtimes, will help.
Avoid drinking tea and coffee with meals, as they contain polyphenols, which make it harder for your body to absorb iron from food. Antacid drugs that relieve heartburn also prevent you from absorbing iron from the foods that you eat.
If you are breastfeeding, you could take a vitamin supplement for mums that contains iron.
You probably won't have had a blood test after having your baby, unless you had a caesarean, lost a lot of blood in labour, or had other problems, such as dizziness.
It's only a worry if your iron levels are significantly lower than they should be, making you seriously anaemic. If that's the case, you'll have more obvious symptoms, such as a racing or irregular heartbeat (palpitations) or breathlessness. You may also look paler than usual. You're also more likely to pick up infections, such as coughs and colds.
Other, less common, symptoms of anaemia, are:
Tell your doctor, midwife or health visitor if you have symptoms of anaemia. They can arrange a blood test, and rule out other possible causes of your symptoms.
If you're diagnosed with iron-deficiency anaemia, you can have a prescription for iron tablets, or buy them over the counter. Ask your doctor or pharmacist about a suitable dose.
Read about a healthy diet for a breastfeeding mum.
The trouble is, most new mums feel tired. And you may be feeling low because of the baby blues, or the many challenges that caring for a newborn brings.
It's normal to be a bit low in iron after giving birth. Birth, and the vaginal bleeding (lochia) that happens for the first six weeks, leaves most new mums lower in iron.
However, your iron levels are likely to return to normal as your body recovers from birth, provided you are eating a balanced diet with plenty of iron-rich foods.
It's important that you keep up your iron levels. Your body needs iron to produce haemoglobin, which stores and carries oxygen in your red blood cells.
Being too low in iron can affect your mood, and this may make it harder for you bond with your baby.
Iron deficiency can make you feel short-tempered and irritable, and become more vulnerable to postnatal depression. Tiredness can also make breastfeeding more difficult.
Eating plenty of iron-rich foods will help you to rebuild your body's stores of iron. There are two sorts of iron-rich foods:
- Red meat, fish and poultry contain haem iron, which is easily used by your body.
- Pulses, dried fruit, bran flakes and dark green vegetables, such as kale, chard, watercress and broccoli, contain non-haem iron. Non-haem iron is harder for your body to absorb.
Vitamin C helps your body to absorb the non-haem iron in meals. Drinking orange juice or eating vitamin C-rich fruit and veg, such as peppers or kiwi fruit at mealtimes, will help.
Avoid drinking tea and coffee with meals, as they contain polyphenols, which make it harder for your body to absorb iron from food. Antacid drugs that relieve heartburn also prevent you from absorbing iron from the foods that you eat.
If you are breastfeeding, you could take a vitamin supplement for mums that contains iron.
You probably won't have had a blood test after having your baby, unless you had a caesarean, lost a lot of blood in labour, or had other problems, such as dizziness.
It's only a worry if your iron levels are significantly lower than they should be, making you seriously anaemic. If that's the case, you'll have more obvious symptoms, such as a racing or irregular heartbeat (palpitations) or breathlessness. You may also look paler than usual. You're also more likely to pick up infections, such as coughs and colds.
Other, less common, symptoms of anaemia, are:
- craving unusual food, such as ice (pica)
- changes in how food tastes
- ringing in your ears (tinnitus)
- a sore tongue
- a headache
- itchy skin
Tell your doctor, midwife or health visitor if you have symptoms of anaemia. They can arrange a blood test, and rule out other possible causes of your symptoms.
If you're diagnosed with iron-deficiency anaemia, you can have a prescription for iron tablets, or buy them over the counter. Ask your doctor or pharmacist about a suitable dose.
Read about a healthy diet for a breastfeeding mum.
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