The Role That Diet Plays In Anemia And Pregnancy

When a woman is pregnant, she must take extra care to ensure that she refrains from eating foods and substances that maybe potentially dangerous to her unborn child.  There are some items, such as alcohol, cigarettes, caffeine and illegal drugs that are all well known to be dangerous to the fetus, and furthermore, which also (fortunately) are refrained from during the course of the pregnancy of the female.

However, with that said, there is also the problem that some foods that were previously alright for a woman to eat are no long er in this category and as such, the female will need to limit, even abstain from eating them altogether. This issue is considered in more depth as follows.

What foods can pose a threat to my baby?

A pregnant woman is at a much higher risk of developing the blood related disorder known as anemia and so the primary means of preventing this is to ensure that there is plenty of iron in the diet of the pregnant female. Unfortunately, there are a number of foods that will directly impede the rate at which the body will absorb the iron contained in the food. Broadly speaking, calcium is without a shadow of doubt, one of the worst offenders in regards to this issue, and so comments that calcium causes anemia during pregnancy are not without merit.

Therefore, a woman should be very cautious about her consumption of milk and other dairy products and the reason for this is that dairy products happen to be very rich in calcium, which as has been alluded to earlier, has a severely inhibiting effect on the iron absorption of the body. The less iron there is in the body, the higher the chances that anemia will arise for both you, the mother, as well as your baby.

If you are pregnant, have been given iron supplements by your physician, then make sure that you do not take them with milk or any other calcium rich food. This advice goes double in the event that you are taking concentrated calcium tablets/capsules, as the inhibiting effect will be magnified significantly!