Breathlessness

I've been getting like that to. It's been horrible. Sitting in a different position doesn't help, laying down doesn't help. I find myself at the back door in the evening trying to get some fresh air. It's a horrible feeling! My midwife checked my iron and said I'm a little low which iron tablets could help she also said if I get heart palpitations again to go straight to a&e.

But I feel you, it's horrible! Hope you feel better soon x

Hey! I had this in my last pregnancy, turns out I was anemic, despite my Hb levels (iron) being above average at 12 weeks. By 25 weeks my levels has absolutely depleted. The doctor didn't even want to do bloods as they said it was highly unlikely they had dropped significantly. How wrong they were.

Wishing you all the best mama and hope you feel better soon. Xxxx

Thanks for the advice, I’m going to ask for a blood test at my next midwife appointment. Never been so out of breath just sitting down x

How long is it until your midwife appointment? Personally I wouldn't leave it if it's more than a week away. Call your GP and if you can't get an appointment call 111. Iron tablets do not have great immediate effect, they take a while to kick in. I was on them from 25 weeks pregnant until 9 months post partum and my levels only just stayed above the cut off point for being anemic.

Also from a medical point of view breathlessness could be due to another issue and i definitely think you should get it checked out. Xxxx

I had a midwife appointment yesterday and mentioned the breathlessness but was told it was normal? I’ve now requested a blood test but doesn’t look like I will get this any time soon

Do you have any chest pain? Is the breathlessness when you're at rest?

I have a family history of blood clots, when I had breathlessness in my last pregnancy (COVID times), my husband who is a doctor said to go to A&E to be checked over given my history. I do think some breathlessness is normal, obviously your body is shifting things here and there, getting bigger etc. But I wouldn't ignore extreme breathlessness, especially when not exerting anything, especially if you're having pain also. Xxxx

I had it really bad had to go to A&E. Which was good coz they did blood tests, ECG and x-ray. And my hb was Really really low. And I got a follow up with the consultant after. Sadly it hasn't gone away, but I'm finding ways to manage it better now.