More than 66% of pregnant women are iron deficient

Iron deficiency in pregnant women can cause premature birth, malnutrition in children, heart failure and reduced cognitive ability...

On the morning of November 3, at the Scientific Conference on Clinical Updates on Obstetrics and Gynecology, Deputy Minister of Health, Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Viet Tien said that the rate of pregnant mothers with iron deficiency in Vietnam as well as the Asia-Pacific region is currently more than 66%.

Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Viet Tien affirmed that although the nutritional intake of Vietnamese people has increased significantly, there are still many people with iron deficiency anemia, especially pregnant women, which can cause premature birth, malnutrition in children, heart failure and reduced cognitive ability.

Doctor Vu Ba Quyet, Deputy Director of the Central Maternity Hospital, the most popular method of iron supplementation to date is to use iron tablets orally. However, the ability to absorb iron by this method is not high and 1/3 of users experience side effects in the digestive system.

In severe anemia, oral iron supplementation is not enough because endogenous iron reserves are depleted, and there is not enough iron to form erythropoietin. Meanwhile, a new therapy is using intravenous iron to supplement iron for patients, especially pregnant women, without any serious side effects, restoring iron reserves quickly, and is more effective than oral iron supplementation.

Doctor Vu Ba Quyet presents the causes of iron deficiency in pregnant women

Dr. Vu Ba Quyet said that immediately after intravenous injection, high plasma iron concentrations limit iron excretion through the reticuloendothelial system and inhibit iron absorption through the intestinal mucosa, thereby providing sufficient iron for the formation of erythropoietin (red blood cells). Iron deficiency anemia is treated by oral iron supplementation, while intravenous iron is reserved for severe anemia.

“We can buy oral iron supplements at the pharmacy, but now there are also intravenous iron preparations, which are very good for iron supplementation, especially in severe anemia, during pregnancy or hemodialysis. Intravenous iron is a necessary therapy when blood and blood products in the blood bank are sometimes insufficient to meet the demand. Intravenous iron will increase the number of red blood cells very quickly and improve the patient's anemia,” said Dr. Vu Ba Quyet.

The scientific conference on clinical updates on obstetrics and gynecology took place on the morning of November 3 in Hanoi, co-organized by the Ministry of Health, the Vietnam Association of Obstetrics and Family Planning, and DKSH Group. At the conference, intravenous iron is a new therapy in Vietnam that helps to quickly improve the condition of iron deficiency anemia, especially for pregnant women./.

According to VOV