The Scoop on Taking Iron and Folic Acid During Pregnancy (Week 19)

**CAUTION**Don't take any vitamins supplements for pregnancy without first consulting with your doctor. Too much of anything isn't good for you or your baby.


I am now well along in my pregnancy, and I have a lot to show for it. I think the breasts have decided to stay the size they are now, which is quite the relief. I shouldn't have to worry about them getting any bigger until I begin nursing, when they're expected to grown again (yikes!). What's even better is that now the tummy has caught up to my chest, so now I actually look pregnant.


There Goes the Iron
Even though my energy has improved significantly since my first trimester, I've started to notice that I'm now getting the midday slump I used to get before I became pregnant, and before I was taking iron supplements. Several months before I became pregnant, my naturopath determined that I had really low blood iron levels. That was why I would feel tired a lot, even though I was pretty active (actually, being active meant I needed even more iron than I was getting from my diet). My naturopath put me on a highly absorbable form of iron, called Glycinate, which in about a month gave me a new lease on life. I finally had energy to get me through the whole day.


Unfortunately, during my first trimester I couldn't really take any supplements because the smell of them would make me nauseous. Now it has caught up with me, and I can feel myself getting tired the way I used to when I was iron deficient. I'm groggy in the morning, tired by about 3PM, and exhausted after eating dinner. This is because at this point in my pregnancy I need double the amount of iron I used to take. The thing about taking iron supplements is that iron stores take a while to build up in your body, so taking them won't appear to make a difference at first. I've been taking them for about a week now, and am hoping to see some improvements in the next few weeks.


Taking in enough iron is so important, especially during pregnancy.Combine the increased blood volume during pregnancy, increased needs of the fetus to grow blood cells, and blood loss that occur during delivery, and you have a strong case to make sure you're getting enough iron. 


Folic Acid
As soon as I became pregnant, my family doctor put me on folic acid supplements. She told me that it is especially important to the development of my embryo in the first trimester, when the neural tube is developing. The neural tube is the precursor to my baby's spine and brain.


In fact, many sources recommend you take folic acid if you are planning on getting pregnant. The reason for this is that it helps to synthesize and repair DNA, and it is especially important during periods of rapid cell division and growth (which is what happens during pregnancy). On top of that, folic acid works hand-in-hand with iron to produce healthy red blood cells for you and your baby. 


Finding Iron and Folic Acid in Your Food
I always tell my clients to try to get as many nutrients as they can from the foods they eat. That's because not only do these foods usually include multiple nutrients, but they are much easier for your body to absorb than in pill form. 


The best sources of iron come from animal sources such as eggs (particularly the yolk), lean red meat, and liver. Good plant-based sources include beans, spinach, and fortified breads, cereals, and oatmeal.


The best sources of folic acid come from similar sources for iron: liver, leafy vegetables such as spinach, asparagus, turnip greens, beans, sunflower seeds, and fortified grain products.