Quality Iron Vital for Healthy
Pregnancy

Adequate stores of iron are vital for healthy pregnancy. Iron is needed to assemble proteins to form all aspects of your baby's body; it is required for growth and intelligence. Your body handles iron with great care and caution; indeed, poor quality iron supplementation can cause a lot of problems.

Not all women need supplemental iron prior to getting pregnant -- but many do. Common reasons for a lack of iron are not eating red meat, heavy menstrual cycles, high stress, and excessive exercise (especially long distance running). Common symptoms of a lack of iron are fatigue, hair thinning or falling out, and vertical ridges on your fingernails. Any symptom of low thyroid may actually be a symptom of low iron -- as iron is needed within cells to carry out over 80 thyroid-related instructions. Since thyroid hormone function must be optimized during pregnancy, for your health and your mood, quality iron is a pivotal nutrient.

If you are not sure of your iron status you can test your hemoglobin and your ferritin; ideally both scores should be in the middle of the normal range. Hemoglobin requires iron for its formation. Ferritin is reflective of the iron reserves stored within your liver -- a very important factor for healthy pregnancy.

Quality of iron is a huge issue of the utmost importance. Cheap iron salts like ferrous sulfate or ferrous gluconate, which are