Pregnancy is a time of growth of new maternal and fetal tissues.
In order to support this growth, blood volume and contents must grow to help feed these tissues, including red blood cells. Further, about one-third of your iron stores will be passed on to your developing baby to form its blood and to be stored for future use. One of the most common causes of anemia during pregnancy is iron deficiency. Anemia is the reduced ability of the blood to carry oxygen to your body's cells and the growing baby. It is hard to get enough iron from your diet to support a pregnancy and iron supplementation may be necessary.