Why does pregnant women have low hematocrit?

For pregnant women, pregnancy is a period when the body is relatively weak and the nutritional needs are extremely high. Due to psychological and physiological changes, pregnant women are prone to some special symptoms that do not normally occur. For example, it is common for pregnant women to have low hematocrit. So what is the reason why female friends have low hematocrit during pregnancy? Let’s take a brief look at it below.

The disease is mainly caused by malnutrition and folic acid deficiency, and a very small part is caused by vitamin B12 deficiency.

Folic acid and vitamin B12 are both important coenzymes in the synthesis of DNA. Folic acid itself is inactive, and it is tetrahydrofolate that acts as a coenzyme. Tetrahydrofolate is produced from dihydrofolate by the action of folate reductase. It is very unstable and easily oxidized. Therefore, this disease may occur in any situation that blocks the production of tetrahydrofolate and causes folic acid metabolism disorders.

When it is deficient, DNA synthesis is impaired and various tissues throughout the body may be affected, but the hematopoietic tissue is most seriously affected, causing erythrocyte proliferation and maturation disorders and the appearance of morphologically and functionally abnormal megaloblasts in the bone marrow. These abnormal megaloblasts have a shorter lifespan than normal and are often destroyed prematurely, which is also a factor in causing anemia.

It is a common phenomenon for female friends to have low hematocrit during pregnancy. When you find yourself in this situation, don’t panic too much. The editor recommends that you go to a nearby regular large hospital for a detailed examination in time to detect the problem early and prescribe the right medicine, so as to better give birth to a healthy baby.