How much iron should a pregnant woman take per day?

Question

I'm 19 weeks pregnant and I have seen that women should take anywhere from 21mg to 50mgs a day. It sounds like a large range.
How much iron should a pregnant woman take per day?

Answer 1

A woman who IS NOT menstruating probably does not need Iron, rememeber Iron is a poison in high concentrations.

Men should not take vitamins with Iron for that reason.

Answer 2

If you are taking your prenatal vitamins then you should be doing just fine on the iron. You don't want to over do the iron because it can cause problems. My doctor didn't prescribe an iron supplement until I was 7 or 8 months pregnant. They should take a hemoglobin test on you at some point in your pregnancy. If your iron is low then your OB will give you a prescription for iron supplements.

Answer 3

Start off with your prenatal vitamin and just take that. Your doctor will do two checks through out your pregnancy to check your iron levels and will tell you if you need more. By 24 weeks with my first pregnancy, I was severly anemic and needed about 100 mg a day to keep my levels stable. My friend actually needed a prenatal supplement without any iron because her levels were high. Take your recommended vitamin and let the doctor tell you if you need anything more or less. Good Luck!!

Answer 4

You'll need to take your prenatal vitamin every day; your practitioner will probably recommend one that contains these amounts of vitamins and minerals.
 No more than 4,000 IU (800 ug) of vitamin A. Many manufacturers have reduced the amount of vitamin A in their vitamin supplements or have replaced it with beta-carotene, a much safer source of vitamin A.
 At least 400 to 600 mcg of folic acid (folate).
 250 mcg of calcium. If you're not getting enough calcium in your diet, you will need additional supplementation to reach the 1,200 mg needed during pregnancy. Do not take more than 250 mg of calcium (or more than 25 mg of magnesium) along with supplementary iron, since these minerals interfere with iron absorption. Take any larger doses at least two hours before or after your iron supplement.
 30 mg of iron
 50 to 80 mg of vitamin C
 15 mg of zinc
 2 mg of copper
 2 mg of vitamin B6
 Not more than 500 ug of vitamin D
 Approximately the DRI for vitamin E (15 mg), thiamin (1.4 mg), riboflavin (1.4 mg), niacin (18mg), and vitamin B12 (2.6 mcg). Most prenatal supplements contain 2 to 3 times the DRI of these. There are no known harmful effects from such doses.
 Some preparations may also contain magnesium, fluoride, biotin, phosphorous, pantothenic acid, or a combination of these.

Answer 5

It depends what your doctor tells you. If you feel that you are low on iron you should go get your blood levels checked out. Usually the prenatal vitamins have some amount of iron in them. I would call your ob/gyn and ask what is best for you.
Good Luck! :)

Answer 6

Your needed daily intake for iron would be included in your prenatal vitamins. You should take one prenatal vitamin every day. Consult your doctor to ask if for your specific needs you may need more iron but I think you should be fine.

Answer 7

None, you should eat healthily and have your iron levels monitored if you feel it is necessary.

Taking unnecessary iron is bad for you and the baby.

Answer 8

Just take your prenatal vitamins and you'll be fine.

Answer 9

it depends on the women you should ask your doc how much you should take

Answer 10

depends on how enemic u r see ur doc get tested,,,,too much will make u constipated