Dear Dr Puthillath,

I am writing from Romania, with a minor issue, needing pregnancy advice from a hematologist. I am 31 yr old, with no known illnesses, in my 30th week of pregnancy which has been evolving well until now. I just had my blood test done, resulting in a slightly low level of haemoglobin (11.4, instead of the normal 12-16 g/dl specified here), but with normal iron levels (14.0 umol/l, where the normal level specified is 8.8-30 umol/l). My main issue is that my doctor will certainly prescribe iron supplements which I don't want to take because of the side effects (constipation) and because as an amateur, I think that I shouldn't take iron supplements if my iron levels are ok. Please advise. Thanks a lot! Annamaria