Preventing anemia during pregnancy means more than just checking your iron levels. Vitamin B12 deficiency anemia can cause many problems that can harm your baby, yet it’s often brushed under the rug. In fact, vitamin B12 blood testing doesn’t always detect the earliest signs of vitamin B12 anemia during pregnancy, or afterwards.
Vitamin B12 is so important for so many stages of life- it helps your make plenty of healthy red blood cells needed for oxygen. Vitamin B12 also protects your nervous system. This important plant-based vitamin is excellent for metabolism, energy, memory, and good mood.
For family planning, vitamin B12 is crucial for fertility, development, and your child’s ability to thrive.
According to studies, women with vitamin B12 deficiency or pernicious anemia are more likely than others to experience infertility, multiple miscarriages, and spontaneous abortions.
Among the many symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency include problems that can interfere with family planning. Difficulty conceiving, low libido, impotence, and miscarriage are all impairments that occur with pernicious anemia or medium-range vitamin B12 deficiency.
If you have too much homocysteine, then you are at risk for preeclampsia and miscarriage. Vitamin B12 helps to control homocysteine, so it’s important to keep taking your vitamin B12 supplements.
To prevent blood clotting, you should also keep folate levels in check, as well.
Neural tube defects
In a study by the National Institutes of Health, doctors saw that neural tube birth defects happen more often when the mother has vitamin B12 deficiency or pernicious anemia.
Even before getting pregnant, you should start taking extra vitamin B12.
Spina bifida, a development disorder that means “split spine,” is five times more likely to occur with pernicious anemia, even if couples are anemic before conceiving.
Prevent anemia during pregnancy
Vitamin B12 deficiency is treatable- and the symptoms can be prevented if caught on time. That means good health, both for you and your unborn child, when vitamin B12 anemia is detected before or during pregnancy.
Researchers noted that when vitamin B12 supplements are introduced in high doses, homocysteine levels decrease, resulting in a much better outcome for normal childbirth.
While there’s no upper limit for vitamin B12 (all amounts are perfectly safe), the standard dose is 1,000mic taken daily, weekly, bi-weekly, or as recommended by your physician.
If you had vitamin B12 deficiency anemia during pregnancy, did you take extra vitamin B12, in addition to your prenatal vitamins?
Image by David Castillo Dominici