Low Red Blood Cell Count, anemia

[BlackCatWhiteChest]

Hi. I am 30 weeks preg with my first baby. thru out my pregnancy i've been trying to eat as much raw foods as possible. i'd say i'm about 50/50 between cooked foods and raw. I supplement with about 4 TBS of spirulina per day, eat lots of almonds. walnuts as well as other nuts, sprouts, hemp seeds, coconuts oil, fruit, etc. well, as it turns out...i got my blood test results back from the other day and i am SEVERLY anemic. so anemic that my midwives tell me i am unable to do a homebirth. They are suggesting that i get iron injections to bring my iron levels up to see if that helps...however, i am very against supplementing in that way. i believe that all nutrition should come from food, rather then synthetically.

I was wondering if anyone else has ever had an issue with their red blood cell count / iron levels being low, how low were they exactly .. and what did you do about it?

[DawnD]

My iron levels and rbc count were down last year due to heavy monthlys. I do take a whole food iron supplement occasionally. I put this question out here last year and got some good suggestions. When you have greens make sure you add some citrus or a high vitamin C food. The Vita C helps the iron to absorb. We also add blackstrap molasses to our smoothies. It is high in iron and also is supposed to help return gray hair back to the normal color!

Favorite green smoothie: 1 small apple, 1 pear, 2 c water, juice of half lemon, 3 handfuls kale.

Google foods high in iron and get more of those in your diet. Also I think B12 has something to do with the ability to absorb iron (research that). My supplement has B12 in it also.

I wish you the best!

[devil's angel]

u could also do a juice with carrot (just really healthy for u ) spinach (iron) and oranges (vitamen c ) this should help a lot . if u drink this every day u should improve ur iron tests . good luck .

sw=156 lbs
cw=151 lbs
gw=125 lbs

second pregnancy first one raw !!! awesomeness . i wanted indain pan bread today but had blackberries and cherry tomatoes instead !!!!!

[Mary Kay]

Even if you're eating well, low iron COULD be caused by hypothyroidism (pls get it checked) and celiac --gluten sensitivity. You say you're 50% raw---so if one of the non-raw things you're eating is bread, I'd consider eliminating all gluten.

Also, you prob know that the reason you can't have a homebirth is due to bleeding too much.....And low iron CAN supposedly affect your baby's IQ and mental development because of a lack of oxygen to the brain.

I do know a woman who had extremely low iron during pregnancy, who had a mentally challenged daughter ---Just sayin!.....

I probably WOULD take some supplementation for the time being and check out some of these other things. I know you said you didn't want to, but don't know if you'd reconsider. I respect your right to not consider it...Just wanted you to know how serious it could be and that I did it when I was pg with twins and had low iron.

I'd also UP my greens. One time, while pg - after having my twins, my hematocrit and hemoglobin was ABOVE the reference range early on, as I was really cranking down the greens in juices and doing green smoothies. I was 51 though and accidentally got pg, and since my eggs were so old, I mc'd ---but interesting that my levels were that high. The normal range for one was something (I'm making this up, but it was something like a normal range of )35 - 45, and because I was consuming so many greens in combo with Vit C, mine was something like 48!

Best of luck,

Mary Kay

[blissingod]

You want to take iron and vitamin c together this will get your levels up quickly.

[BlackCatWhiteChest]

I am so so afraid. I feel like this is all my fault......

My iron stores are only 6.7...which is DANGEROUSLY low.....

i am trying hard to get the levels up now, but im scared it might be too late, like what if the damage is already done?

All i want is for my baby to healthy.......I wish I could go back in time and start over........

[RawLibrarian]

They are suggesting that i get iron injections to bring my iron levels up to see if that helps...however, i am very against supplementing in that way. i believe that all nutrition should come from food, rather then synthetically.

If your midwives are telling you that you are so anemic that you can't do a home birth, then supplementation is in order, as well as the other suggestions given here. This doesn't mean that you have 'failed'. Many raw vegans supplement (vitamin D, B12); it is not a moral failing to need to supplement. Your food intake might well be perfectly okay for someone who is not pregnant, but clearly it is not enough now that you are pregnant. Please don't let dogma get in the way of doing what's best for your baby. Don't beat yourself up about it, but your midwives are telling you to supplement. You might want to listen to them.

[Mary Kay]

Hugs,

Hang in there. Do your best and check regularly! Research too! Hey, you already are researching....you're asking here aren't you?

Let us know how you're doing.

Best of luck,

Mary Kay

[Raw Angel Mom]

If you have to supplement, go with angstrom size iron mineral only.

Since doing raw food,i am no longer anemic and don't supplement. I get my iron from plant food.

Dark leafy greens, gojji berries, spirullina/chlorella etc....

Someone would do a smoothie and add a citrus in it to help for absortion of the iron.

[Mary Kay]

RawAngelMom,

I too, am ONLY liking angtrom minerals for mineral supplementation. Totally agree! After I learned about them, I got rid of all my pills with all the "-ates..." You know, gluconate, etc...

Mary Kay

[mellowgirl09]

For the sake of your child just go on and take the iron supplement that's my advise. I wouldn't even play with that it's not worth it. It's just an iron supplement.

I have had severe anemia on and off my entire life including during the times my diet was full of meat. I just take supplements regularly now and my levels stay reasonable.

Also you should note that there can be reasons outside of your diet that are causing your iron deficiency, food isn't everything. Perhaps you should experiment and research how to naturally take care of this AFTER you have your baby.

I've seen a few health nuts ruin their health of their baby/child with their food beliefs during pregnancy and even after. Parents really need to be careful with "guessing" and "experimenting" when it comes to growing fetuses, babies and children. It is so not worth it.

And I wouldn't "worry" about the past if I were you, this can do more damage to your baby then any thing you do or do not put into your body. Just take the supplements and don't fight your pregnancy food cravings even if they are outside of your preferred diet choices. If you throw a little "traditional" food in there here and there big deal, especially since you've already received this warning. Have yourself a fat healthy baby then go back to how you want to eat completely.

[Raw Angel Mom]

I want to mention also that sometime when we are low in iron it could mean that we are low in B12. Please look into this. Chlorella has B12 and soluble for the human body as per Brandon Brasier.

[Raw Angel Mom]

RawAngelMom,

I too, am ONLY liking angtrom minerals for mineral supplementation. Totally agree! After I learned about them, I got rid of all my pills with all the "-ates..." You know, gluconate, etc...

Mary Kay

The pill or tonic, constipated me, loll..... No more.

Thank you for sharing. Dr. Cousens sell them on his site.

[Mary Kay]

Mine are called Complete H20 Minerals --I have compared them to others (PPM- etc) and have found nothing that beats the price...They're $32 for 32oz. --a quart.

Now they have what's called a Body Foundation that also includes vitamins --but I get the Amish guy who's the distributor to remove the liquid vitamin packs and just buy the Foundation, which includes .....no time to finish...I sound like an advertisement...LOL --not affiliated with them....

Mary Kay