Iron (Serum) During Pregnancy
Laboratory Tests
Obie Editorial Team
What is Serum Iron?
The serum iron test simply measures the amount of iron in the blood. Iron is needed to produce red blood cells. The body will store excess iron for use when food sources of iron don’t provide enough during any given period. The stores and used and when dietary iron intake increases, the stores are replenished. When too much iron is consumed, especially in infants and children, death can occur. Too little iron intake and the body uses all stores and red blood cell production wanes. This leads to anemia, which causes fatigue, dizziness and pale skin. Often, the physical symptoms of anemia are the reason an iron test is ordered. A quick test for blood iron levels can be completed in the office. A drop of blood is placed in a special liquid. The rate at which the blood droplet falls gives the doctor a general idea about how much iron is in blood.
The serum iron test simply measures the amount of iron in the blood. Iron is needed to produce red blood cells. The body will store excess iron for use when food sources of iron don’t provide enough during any given period. The stores and used and when dietary iron intake increases, the stores are replenished. When too much iron is consumed, especially in infants and children, death can occur. Too little iron intake and the body uses all stores and red blood cell production wanes. This leads to anemia, which causes fatigue, dizziness and pale skin. Often, the physical symptoms of anemia are the reason an iron test is ordered. A quick test for blood iron levels can be completed in the office. A drop of blood is placed in a special liquid. The rate at which the blood droplet falls gives the doctor a general idea about how much iron is in blood.
Normal Value Range
- Negative Pregnancy Adult: 41 to 141 µg/dL or 7 to 25 µmol/L
- Pregnancy Trimester One: 72 to 143 µg/dL or 13 to 26 µmol/L
- Pregnancy Trimester Two: 44 to 178 µg/dL or 8 to 32 µmol/L
- Pregnancy Trimester Three: 30 to 193 µg/dL or 5 to 35 µmol/L
