Ideally, a healthy diet should give you sufficient iron to cope with the demands of pregnancy, but as the body can only store a certain amount at any one time, it’s crucial you eat enough iron rich foods before you conceive and while you’re pregnant.

If you have low iron levels at the start of your pregnancy, you may need to take additional iron supplements to ensure adequate amounts are available for you and your baby, ask your Doctor.

Iron is best known for the part it plays in helping red blood cells transport oxygen around the body for daily activity. Indeed, almost two thirds of all the body’s iron is found in the blood.

There are two kinds of iron found in foods; haem iron, which is readily absorbed by the body, and non-haem iron, which has a slightly different chemical structure and is less easily absorbed.

Good sources of haem iron include liver, lean red meat (beef and lamb), chicken and salmon.

Non-haem iron can be found in breakfast cereals with added iron, bread, legumes (beans and lentils), brown rice, dried apricots, broccoli, spinach and nuts.

If you are a vegetarian or vegan, your choices are limited to foods containing non-haem iron. However you can still obtain iron with the help of vitamin C. Vitamin C reacts with non-haem iron and makes it easier for the body to absorb it. Adding a glass of fruit juice or some tomato or capsicum to a meal can increase the amount of non-haem iron your body absorbs.