Total amount of iron needed by the fetus during entire pregnancy is:
500 mg
1000 mg
800 mg
300 mg
Ans. is d, i.e. 300 mgRef. Dutta Obs. 7/e, p 55, Shiela Balakrishnan TB of Obstetrics 1/e, p 336In a normal pregnancy, the total amount of iron required by a pregnant female is 900-1000 mg. This is because of the following needs--Total amount of iron required during pregnancy is 1000 mg, i.e 4-6 mg/day which can be calculated as:*Fetusandplacentarequire-300mg*GrowingRBCofthemotherrequire-500mg*Lostthroughsweat,urineandfaeces-200mg *Lostatthetimeofdelivery-200mg [?][?][?][?][?] 1200* Amount of iron saved d/t amenorrhea - 300 mgSo approximately (1200-300=)900-1000mg is required during pregnancy.From the above calculations, it is clear that amount of iron required by fetus is 300 mg.
Physiological changes during Pregnancy