Fe Deficiency Anemia’s Effects on Pregnancy: A Controversial Topic.

With normal pregnancy, blood volume increases, which results in a concomitant hemodilution. Although red blood cell (RBC) mass increases during pregnancy, plasma volume increases more, resulting in a relative anemia. This results in a physiologically lowered hemoglobin (Hb) level, hematocrit (Hct) value, and RBC count, but it has no effect on the mean corpuscular volume (MCV). However, in women who are iron deficient, this problem is exacerbated due to low iron stores affecting the body’s ability to increase red blood cell production. Iron deficiency is the most common pathologic cause of anemia in pregnancy. Does IDA result in adverse maternal or neonatal outcomes? The data is more controversial than you would suspect. In this session, we will review the data regarding the impact of iron deficiency anemia on maternal neonatal outcomes.