Iron deficiency anemia in pregnancy.

Iron deficiency is seen commonly in women during their reproductive years and particularly during pregnancy. The physician who primarily cares for women should be aware of this and initiate iron supplementation when indicated. The association of poor pregnancy outcome is of concern when iron deficiency is present in the first trimester. It is unclear whether this is because of the anemia or other epidemiologic factors. It is also unknown whether correcting iron deficiency before conception improved neo-natal outcome. Until more is known concerning IDA, it is recommended that pregnant women receive nutritional assessment and prenatal care along with adequate iron supplementation to potentially decrease the risk of poor pregnancy outcome.