Advice on low iron and risks with home birth

[Smiler82]

Hi everyone,

I really want to have a home birth and have been having issues with low iron for the last couple of months. It's not really bad, but I still haven't met the minimum level the MWs say it needs to be for a home birth.

They want it to be 11 and my last blood test came back at 10.9. I'm having another test on Monday, and have been eating an iron-rich diet, taking 2 Spatone supplements per day and increased my Vit C intake to help with absorption. It does seem to be working as I've gone from 10.4 to 10.9, but I've now been persuaded to try taking an iron tablet every other day to help more (something I didn't want to do because of the side effects, but I really want a home birth so am willing to try!)

I'm just confused about the risks of low iron though - am starting to doubt myself! Just last week I was on here saying how low iron won't make you bleed a lot after birth, it will just make it harder for you to recover from excessive blood loss if you happen to be unlucky enough for that to happen. But the MW just rang me up to talk about it again and she seemed to be saying that low iron WILL make me bleed a lot after birth.

Who is right - MW or me? Am really doubting myself now, and getting frustrated too as everyone I speak to seems to be trying to discourage me from having a home birth and I don't understand why I know they have to make you aware of the risks but I feel like they're playing up the risks so that I give up on the idea

Thoughts?

TIA x

 

[Viola Payne]

With regards to how to address your iron deficiency, have you thought about floradix? Because it's all plant based and natural it's much easier for the body to absorb and is really good for you. I quite enjoy the taste though i know others don't like it at all. Either way lots of pregnant women swear by it.

With regards to your MW telling you that you have to go to hospital because you're 10.9 and you need to be 11 for a hb, if it were me I simply wouldn't listen to them. A difference as small as 0.1 in Iron seems like an arbitrary reason for denying you what has proven to be a safer method of giving birth (at home vs. hospital). Where i live once the MW comes to your home and you're in labour, she can't abandon you for legal reasons. So, if i were in that kind of situation I'd pretend that i was willing to go to hospital and get MW over, then simply refuse to go. They cannot arrest or apprehend you.

Also, as soon as your iron shows 11 i would refuse to do any more iron testing. Why be stressed out for the rest of your pregnancy. It's ridiculous. Your midwives are not your bosses, they don't get to demand that you do things with your body.

I have pretty strong feelings about these matters as i had a very bad hospital birth experience wiht a pushy midwife. NEVER AGAIN would i let a midwife (or any other health profession) commandeer my pregnancy. What a mistake. This time, I say no to most tests and I generally don't take sh*t from no one. So much less stressful, much better for me and especially for baby.

 

[Mrs.Mcguin]

I agree..liquid iron is wonderful! 20ml in the morning and 20ml at night!

As for those that are trying to convince you to not have a home birth...the new common thing is hospital births and its what people know as "normal" now a days. Stick to your guns and do what you feel is right.

 

[BunnyN]

I had slightly low hemoglobin. I took floradix and I think it helped but I didn't test again before the birth. I had a HB with an independent MW and she was careful but not overly worried about the small stuff. I lost about 600ml of blood at the birth which is at the high end of normal. I believe the blood loss had to do with high bp and a long labour, not low iron, I've never heard of low iron causing you to bleed. I recovered quickly.

 

[roomaloo]

I would have thought it would be more lack of energy and slower to recover

I'm having a HB, it's funny how areas differ. My iron was 10.7, they like it to be over 10, ideally 10.5 so said I was getting close. So I asked when they'd check it again and they're not. Can't be that much of an issue!

 

[Kess]

My iron was a smidgen low, like yours. My IMW was much more accepting, though she encouraged SpaTone (I took more than two a day I think, you could try taking three?) and iron rich diet etc. I wouldn't have let such a small amount below the recommended level stop me tbh.

 

[Creative]

Just before my last HB (14 years ago) my iron levels dropped to 9 and they told me I wouldn't be able to have a HB. The midwife was right behind me though and told me to much a bag of spinich a day, a carton of orange juice and a large bar of chocolate. I got my iron level up in a week to 11.6!! It can be done.
Iron levels do not accutely affect clotting but they do effect your well being. They are used to make red blood cells to transport oxygen round your body. Lack of them makes you unwell and means that insufficient oxygen is being transported. Your healing time wil therefore take a lot longer, your tiredness will be more extreme and you will be washed out as your body will need to work much harder to increase the levels of red blood cells over the next few weeks.

 

[Smiler82]

Thanks so much for all the responses

Feeling a lot more confident about standing my ground now, thank you all for sharing your experiences. I had another test done yesterday, will find out the result tomorrow. This time I saw my GP rather than my MW and when I said the MWs weren't keen on home birth even with a level of 10.9, my GP basically said she wouldn't be worried about it and it's just the guidelines that the MWs have to stick to. My GP said yes I was right, I won't bleed more, it'll just be harder to recover if I do. So I don't think that's enough reason for me to not have a home birth, I'd be so upset if I went into hospital then had no issues with bleeding.

Creative - a bar of chocolate a day! Amazing! Dark chocolate?

 

[BunnyN]

Also statistics show that you are less likely to have problems with bleeding at a home birth because common interventions can cause bleeding.

 

[Creative]

Thanks so much for all the responses

Feeling a lot more confident about standing my ground now, thank you all for sharing your experiences. I had another test done yesterday, will find out the result tomorrow. This time I saw my GP rather than my MW and when I said the MWs weren't keen on home birth even with a level of 10.9, my GP basically said she wouldn't be worried about it and it's just the guidelines that the MWs have to stick to. My GP said yes I was right, I won't bleed more, it'll just be harder to recover if I do. So I don't think that's enough reason for me to not have a home birth, I'd be so upset if I went into hospital then had no issues with bleeding.

Creative - a bar of chocolate a day! Amazing! Dark chocolate?

It should be, but in those days it didn't really exist much unless you paid the earth for it. I just ate good old cadburies dairy milk.
Funily enough after writing in response to you the otjer day my Gp rang and told me mine was low and that he would put me on iron tablets. I stocked up yesterday on pumpkin and sunflower seeds from Holland and barrat and along with the chocolate I shall enjoy the challenge of getting my levels up again!

 

[berniegroves]

I've been hoping for a home birth for my second child.
I wanted one for my DD but when I went into labour they refused to come to the house because I had gained too much weight.

I really want one this time so have been trying to watch my weight gain.
However the midwife called me today and said I'm anemic and she's gonna give me a prescription for iron tablets. But she said if my levels don't go back up then I can't have a home birth. Need to do some research I think and see what I can find!

 

[BunnyN]

I've been hoping for a home birth for my second child.
I wanted one for my DD but when I went into labour they refused to come to the house because I had gained too much weight.

I really want one this time so have been trying to watch my weight gain.
However the midwife called me today and said I'm anemic and she's gonna give me a prescription for iron tablets. But she said if my levels don't go back up then I can't have a home birth. Need to do some research I think and see what I can find!

Are you in UK? If so don't forget it's your choice where you give birth. They can advise you but ultimately have to support the choice you make. I suggest you ask for the actual numbers and then do reseach and make your own decisions. If it's really low fair enough but if it's just off by a small amount they could be using it as an excuse or be being overly cautious. After all is the risk really that different when you are just below their cut off number rather than just over?

A lot of women find iron suppliments or iron rich foods very effective in quite a short time so it might not end up being an issue for you anyway.

 

[MindUtopia]

If you haven't read this yet, it's worth a look (also just a great website - and we have a Facebook group too)

https://homebirthersandhopefuls.com/can-i-still-have-a-homebirth/low-iron-levels/

 

[lynnikins]

my iron levels arent 11 when im not pregnant so trying to get them that good when pregnant is laughable,
i had extremely low iron like >5 after giving birth to ds2 , i didnt PPH but did require an urgent transfusion to bring my level up, with ds3 my level was about 9 when i gave birth by my recollection the MW's were happy with that knowing that i was normally anemic had it been lower they had suggested a blood transfusion for the following week had I not given birth. this time in a different area my level last checked was 10 and the MW and SOM were out yesterday to do my HB visit and they want it at 10.5 so having another test next week and will be doubling up on my spatone every day not every other day and probably adding some floradix in there too. dont want to give them any more reason to be whinging if i can help it they are worried enough that i'll UC if they cant send someone lol

 

[Smiler82]

they are worried enough that i'll UC if they cant send someone lol

What does UC mean?

I thought this was a closed case for me since last week when my MW rang up, I was out and she spoke to DH, who told her I was getting stressed and upset about how much they were going on about my iron levels and trying to persuade me out of a home birth. At that time she retreated and said oh we don't want her to get upset, if she really wants to be at home that's fine.

Yesterday the same MW rang me up and said I would be in 'serious trouble' after birth if I bleed too much. My iron levels are 0.2 below what they want them to be. I had previously spoken to my GP who said to be so close to the limit (11) is nothing to worry about at all, so luckily I didn't panic when she said that, but I was pretty annoyed she said that because it's simple scaremongering. She also wants me to come in and sign a form saying I take responsibility for my own choice in this, so I now think that all the hassling they've been doing is simply about ticking boxes and making sure their own backsides are covered in case I do bleed a lot after I give birth and try to sue them or something.

BunnyN is totally right that it is YOUR choice where you give birth. Of course it's sensible to do some research and weigh up the risks etc and if you decide hospital is best then fair enough. But similarly they cannot refuse to attend you if you decide you want to go ahead with home birth even though they don't advise it. The homebirth.org.uk site says:
A midwife or doctor cannot decide whether a woman can, or cannot, have a home birth. It is the woman's choice, and hers alone. Health professionals may give her advice, but it is up to her whether she accepts their recommendations. Anyone who tells a woman that she is not "allowed" to have a home birth misunderstands their own authority.

There is a really good article on this site about low iron in pregnancy and it has really helped me to understand my own situation - for me, my level is 10.8 and if I lived elsewhere then I'd be fine, it's just because my area go by 11. I can't link to it properly because when I navigate to the page, the URL doesn't change! But go here:

https://www.homebirth.org.uk/

Then on the left click the 'Can I have a homebirth if...' link
Then the 10th bullet point about haemoglobin takes you to the article.

x

 

[BunnyN]

Yesterday the same MW rang me up and said I would be in 'serious trouble' after birth if I bleed too much. My iron levels are 0.2 below what they want them to be. I had previously spoken to my GP who said to be so close to the limit (11) is nothing to worry about at all, so luckily I didn't panic when she said that, but I was pretty annoyed she said that because it's simple scaremongering. She also wants me to come in and sign a form saying I take responsibility for my own choice in this, so I now think that all the hassling they've been doing is simply about ticking boxes and making sure their own backsides are covered in case I do bleed a lot after I give birth and try to sue them or something.

I agree that is total scaremongering. Of course anyone would be in serious trouble if they bled TOO much. Even people who start with a high level and are in hospital sometimes bleed to death from bleeding too much. Being just under the limit only makes your risk factor a tiny bit higher.

My levels were boarderline, I bled a lot and didn't even feel bad afterwards so it's not really like she is making out. To put things in perspective I had a friend who bled a lot (male friend, so obviously not pregnancy related). When he arrived at hospital his level was 2.8. He was very ill but didn't die.

 

[lynnikins]

UC, is unassisted childbirth my last planned homebirth turned out as a UC because the PCT i was under wasnt staffing the hospital well enough to be able to deal with 2 homebirths at the same time and i refused to go to hospital as there was no medical indication and ds3 was born before the paramedics got there as i put off calling them till i was at a point they couldnt transfer me till post delivery as I didnt want the hassle of having to argue it out with them

 

[Teeny21]

I was planning a birth center birth with a midwife. Around 6 months my iron was extremely low I ended up having to take pills and get a b12 shot every day. It was improving but not enough so about a month before I had my baby I started getting iron shots. I had six shots in two weeks. I had to be at a certain level before I could register to have my baby at the center. After the iron shots I still was below the minimum requirement. I was amping up to do another round of iron shots when I went into labor. After my water broke I waited for my first contraction. It was painful! I called my midwife and she came over. I was already 7 centimeters! I didn't have a choice, I was having a home birth. They were worried about the low iron and me losing too much blood after the baby was born so they gave me a shot of pitocin after my little girl as out. Apparently pitocin helps with the blood loss and excessive bleeding. I had my first baby at home and there were no issues whatsoever and my midwife said I had the lowest iron levels she had ever seen and she has been a midwife for over 25 years. You can still have a home birth! I did!

 

[Smiler82]

Thanks Teeny21 I did get my home birth too! Unfortunately I did have a PPH due to him being a big baby, and the placenta was huge too and I ended up in hospital for 4 days and needed a lot of stitching up plus a blood transfusion BUT I know that none of this was due to having low iron anyway - in fact I got it up to 11.4 the week before I gave birth so that was great. Still, once I was in hospital there was definitely some murmurs of "we told you so" but I don't care, the home birth itself was great and baby was totally fine the entire time. I'm glad you got your home birth too!

 

[BunnyN]

Thanks for the updates girls and congratulations!