Pregnancy outcome in women with sickle cell disease / trait

OBJECTIVE(S) : To study the complications, mode of delivery and the outcome of pregnancy in women with sickle cell disease /trait. METHOD(S) : This is a comparitive study. Study group (subjects) consisted of 118 pregnant women with sickle cell disease /sickle cell trait who were attending the antenatal clinic or were admitted in obstetric wards and followed up till 7th day after delivery. The control group consisted of 236 age and gravidity matched pregnant women who did not have sickle cell disease /trait recruited from the same hospital. RESULTS : Statistically significant complications during pregnancy included anemia, crisis, and toxemia. Incidence of preterm deliveries, cesarean section, adverse fetal outcome in terms of still births, intrauterine deaths, early neonatal deaths, and low birth weight were significantly higher in the study group than in the control group. CONCLUSION(S) : Incidence of toxemia was alarming among the women with sickle cell trait and was found to be more deleterious than previously thought. Complications of sickle cell disease-trait precipitate the onset of delivery (preterm deliveries 72% vs 30.10%) and significantly more cesarean sections were carried out to improve the pregnancy outcome (p=0.0257).