Anemia range table for pregnant women

When women enter pregnancy, the changes in body hormones can cause pregnant mothers to develop many diseases, such as gestational diabetes. Of course, the most common is anemia. As we all know, the symptoms of anemia in our daily life have a great impact on our condition, let alone pregnant mothers. So, what is the range of red blood cells and hemoglobin in pregnant mothers’ blood that is considered anemia?

In addition to the general symptoms of anemia, there are the following characteristics:

1. Most cases occur in late pregnancy, with about 50% occurring after 31 weeks of pregnancy and the rest occurring in the puerperium. It is common around the age of 30, more common in multiparas than primiparas, and more common in multiple births than in single births. 25% of patients are prone to recurrence during the next pregnancy.

2. The onset is acute and anemia is usually moderate or severe. The symptoms are often dizziness, fatigue, general edema, palpitations, shortness of breath, pale skin and mucous membranes, diarrhea, glossitis, and nipple atrophy. Low-grade fever, splenomegaly, and apathy are also common.

3. Digestive tract symptoms are obvious. Some patients have nausea, loss of appetite, vomiting and diarrhea, which may be accompanied by pain in the tongue and lips. During acute attacks, the tip and edge of the tongue are obviously painful, and the tongue surface is bright red, the so-called "beef tongue". Bloody blisters or shallow ulcers may appear, and the lingual papillae may further atrophy into a "bald tongue".

4. Vitamin B12 deficiency can cause peripheral neuritis, which manifests as fatigue, numbness of hands and feet, sensory impairment, difficulty walking and other peripheral neuritis and subacute or chronic combined lesions of the posterior and lateral fascicles of the spinal cord and other neurological symptoms.

5. Impact on pregnancy: If treated promptly, the prognosis is good. If not treated promptly, severe cases may cause complications such as miscarriage, premature birth, placental abruption, fetal growth restriction, stillbirth, etc., often accompanied by vomiting, edema, hypertension, and proteinuria. Anemia usually occurs in the first week after delivery, because breastfeeding aggravates the original folic acid deficiency. If it is not supplemented in time, it often induces anemia symptoms.

examine

1. The diagnosis can be made if the peripheral blood picture shows macrocytic normoglobin anemia, with mean corpuscular volume (MCV)>94fl, mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH)>32pg, excessive neutrophil segmentation, and normal reticulocytes.

2. Bone marrow blood smears show an increase in megaloblasts, larger red blood cells, and loose nuclear chromatin.

3. Serum folate value <6.8mmol/L (3ng/ml) and red blood cell folate value <227mmol/L (100μg/ml) indicate folate deficiency.

4. If the folic acid value is normal, measure the pregnant woman’s serum vitamin B12 value. If it is <90pg/ml, it indicates vitamin B12 deficiency.