Iron deficiency in women: menstruation, pregnancy and recovery

Women meet low iron more often than men, mainly through blood loss and need. Menstruation, pregnancy and the recovery period after it all ask for extra iron (Camaschella 2015). In our experience, low iron in women is sometimes blamed on a busy life for a long time, while a blood test could have pointed a direction sooner.

This article expands on the overview about anaemia and iron deficiency, focusing on women.

Why women more often have low iron

The main reason is blood loss. Each period costs iron, and heavy or long bleeding adds up. If absorption does not keep pace, your stores drop slowly. Pregnancy also asks for a lot of iron, because your blood volume grows and your baby needs iron. After birth, recovery costs iron again. According to Thuisarts.nl, low iron during and after pregnancy is a familiar picture.

Menstruation and iron

Pregnancy and recovery

During pregnancy iron is often monitored, because the need is high. In the months after birth your stores can stay low, especially once menstruation returns. Always discuss supplements during and after pregnancy with your midwife or GP.

Which blood values give insight?

For women, ferritin is often the most sensitive first value, with haemoglobin to spot anaemia and iron to complete the picture. What the numbers mean is at the ferritin level explained. If your Hb is normal but symptoms persist, see iron deficiency without anaemia and anaemia symptoms and causes.

What can you do?

To measure your iron without a referral, you can have your iron status tested or an anaemia panel at Vitalcheck. Discuss an abnormal value with your GP, especially around pregnancy.

References

• Camaschella C. Iron-deficiency anemia. N Engl J Med. 2015. PMID: 25946282.
• Pasricha SR, et al. Iron deficiency. Lancet. 2021. PMID: 33285139.
• Thuisarts.nl. Anaemia.

Every blood test result includes a professional assessment from a BIG-registered doctor. For treatment decisions, discuss your results with your GP.