New and have questions about Thal minor/pregnancy

I am 32w pregnant with twins and I was told that since I had Thal minor I wouldn't really have to worry about it during pregnancy.  With that, I didn't see a hematologist or genetic counselor during my pregancy.

They have done all types of bloodwork on me throughout my pregnancy and nothing came up until today.

I had bloodwork done on Sunday when I went to the hospital and they called today and said that I had polychromasia and they needed to do a hemoglobin test.  My hemoglobin was low and they put me on iron supplements because they didn't want me to have a transfusion during delivery.

Well now they are saying that this polychromasia thing is concerning.  I looked it up and it makes it look like I have a regenerative anemia like sickle cell.

So frustrating.  I will have the test done tomorrow and made an appt with my hematologist for Wednesday to get a second opinion but I was just wondering if anyone else with Thal minor had problems during their pregnancy.

Thanks
Damiane'

Please see the thread about Courtenay's pregnancy at http://www.thalassemiapatientsandfriends.com/index.php?topic=549.0

Your doctors need to be aware of what the possibilities are during pregnancy, including the possibility that you may need to be transfused if your hemoglobin level drops. This can happen suddenly, so your Hb should be regularly checked, especially if you notice a sudden lack of energy and general lethargy. As we have seen with Courtenay, a pregnancy can have a safe and successful outcome even if there are problems, as long as the doctors are aware of the possibilities and the necessary precautions are taken. If the iron does not correct the anemia (I am assuming they have done iron studies to determine iron deficiency. If not, you must demand that they be done), transfusion during the pregnancy may be necessary. If your Hb level is kept high enough, it may be possible to avoid transfusion during delivery but the doctors should be prepared for that eventuality, nonetheless.

My wife is thalminor.  She had placenta previa in the intial stages of pregnancy, but was o.k. withit after some rest.  She has a weak physical structure.  Her haemoglobin in the beginning was 10 (before pregnancy), which has dropped to 7.7 as on date. i.e. in the 8th month of her pregnancy.  her feritin level is 16.10 ng/ml.  There are no symptoms of weakness,  should she be prescribed blood transfusion or anykind of tablets can help?

incase we go for blood transfusion, can it have any ill-effect on the baby?

Hi arpangupta,

The hemoglobin level will measure lower than normal during pregnancy because of the extra plasma the body makes. As long as she doesn't have symptoms...tiredness, fatigue etc...she may not need a transfusion. If she does need one, no worries. Their is no risk to the child as the blood does not cross the placenta. Iron supplements (often recommended during pregnancy even for thal minors) may help boost the Hb a bit and she should definitely be taking 2-5 mg folic acid daily.

Hi I am expecting my first child and i am 18 weeks pregnant. I have recently found out I am also thalassemic minor. However, i have not had that much information about it. I know what it is but what im concerned about is what it does. Also i had a blood test, before i found out i was thalassemic, and i was 8.1hb, so i am taking iron tablets (ferrous fumate??), 3 times daily, it was 2 times a day before i found out i was thalassemic because they said i had severe anemia. I read however that i should not take them as they store and can cause too much iron. All i really want to know is what i am to expect, within my health and my babys health.

Thank you

xx

Hi Haili89 ,

on the forum ,If you carry thal trait,first thing to check is if your partner is free from the trait,because if both parents carry thal trait then there is a 25% chance in every pregnancy that baby could have thal major.

Secondly,hb of 8.1 is low,but although iron supplements can sometimes be useless for us minors,but in pragnancy you can take them unless your iron is high already,because being anemic and having a low hb doesn't always mean that you are low on iron,you can confirm it by a panel of tests called iron studies,iron can sometimes be high in minors who have chronic low hb,did you ever check your hb before you were pregnant? Because when hb is chronically low body tends to absorb more and more iron from the food,so sometimes iron can be high but thats not always the case.Thal minor can also co-exist with iron deficiency anemia.

Hope this helps ,feel free to ask any questions you have in mind.

Zaini.

hi..
i would like to know if i'm a beta minor & my partner is alpha minor..if i got pregnant do i need to do any further test for my baby (ie.placenta previa) ?
 it is a must ??

there are many doctors said that even a beta n alpha minor will hv a mild chance 2 hv a major child ? cos d doctor said there will no 100% i science.. is it true ?
i dint go for dna test..

can you give me further advise..
thx

The combination of alpha trait and beta trait cannot cause thalassemia major. In fact, the two defects normally cause a neutralizing effect on the problems of thal minor. However, and this is most important, alpha trait can exist and not be found in normal testing. Only DNA analysis testing can tell you for sure that the beta carrier is not also an alpha carrier, thus the caution you hear from some doctors. To be absolutely sure, have a DNA sequence test done to rule out alpha in the beta carrier.