Anemia in Pregnancy

Iron is essential for making hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen to other cells. During pregnancy, the amount of blood in your body expands until you have almost 50 percent more than usual. And you need more iron to make more hemoglobin for all that additional blood. You also need extra iron for your growing baby and placenta.

PICA

Some pregnant women develop strong cravings for non-food items such as dirt, ashes, clay, chalk, ice, laundry starch, baking soda, soap, toothpaste, paint chips, plaster, wax, hair, coffee grounds, and even cigarette butts. This phenomenon is called pica.

How is anemia treated?

If your test indicates that you're anemic, your practitioner will prescribe an iron supplement of 60 to 120 mg a day or more. To make sure you absorb as much of the iron as possible, take your iron pills on an empty stomach. Wash them down with water or orange juice (the vitamin C helps with absorption) but not with milk (calcium hinders absorption).

Note that these doses refer to the amount of "elemental iron," or pure iron, in a supplement. Some labels list the amount of ferrous sulfate (a kind of iron salt) instead of or in addition to the amount of elemental iron. A supplement that contains 325 mg of ferrous sulfate will give you about 60 mg of elemental iron. Others use ferrous gluconate, 300 mg of which yields about 34 mg of elemental iron.

What can I do to prevent iron-deficiency?

Take your prenatal vitamin and eat a healthy diet that includes plenty of iron-rich foods. Red meat is your best bet, although poultry (dark meat), other meats, and shellfish are good sources, too. Non-animal iron-rich foods include beans, tofu, raisins, dates, prunes, figs, apricots, potatoes (leave the skins on), broccoli, beets, leafy green vegetables, whole-grain breads, and iron-fortified cereals. Keep in mind that your body absorbs the iron from animal sources (heme iron) much more readily than the iron from non-animal sources (non-heme iron).

One note of caution: Don't turn to liver for your iron needs. Liver is best avoided during pregnancy because it contains unsafe amounts of vitamin A, which can cause birth defects.

Alahai

Takutnya aku bila semua orang kata perut aku kecik.
"Ala..nattra dulu cam tu gak. 7 bulan tetiba membuncit!"
(Itulah ayat untuk aku menyedapkan hati aku)

Sampaikan banyak yang tak tau aku peknen.

Semalam bos aku cerita cakap kat semua orang, "PA saya pakai kebaya harini." sambil tersenyum-senyum.

Aku saja je pakai kebaya sebab NAK BAGI TAU SATU MAHKAMAH BAHAWA AKU PREGNANT! Tapi... masih ada yang tak perasan. ish ish ish..
Selagi boleh, aku pakai je kebaya yg ada. heheheheheh

Eh, perut aku besar la. tak caya tanya saerah. :p

Any Good News?

Hari ni dua orang bertanya soalan yg sama seperti di atas.
dan aku menjawab, "hmm.. dah 6 bulan good news tu."
semua nya terbeliak. "Serious ka? Mana perut you? Kalau tak pakai baju besar ni, kita pun tak tau yg u pregnant"

Hmmm.. nanti aku pakai baju balut nangka korang kata seksa nak mampos plak!
yg peliknya, napa korang suka sangat org2 pregnant ni? menarik sangat ke? hot issue ke?

takpa, esok aku pakai baju balut nangka. Korang bulatkanlah mata sorang2 dan lihatlah keseksian seorang wanita mengandung. wahhhhhhhhhhhhh

untuk wanita mengandung yg lain, jgnlah pakai baju yg longgar2. tunjukkan lah perut tu. it's damn beautiful tau! ;p

dan aku tak pernah ada baju pregnant yang maxi tu. aku mengharamkan diriku untuk memakainya. tapi kan kan kan, this time aku teringin la..huaaa...kuatkan imanku. amin

"Meet...

a preggy friend of mine."

ehehehe