Megaloblastic Anemia of Pregnancy in New York City

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Megaloblastic anemia of pregnancy occurs characteristically during the last trimester of pregnancy or during the puerperium (1-3) and in temperate climates is usually secondary to folate deficiency. Serum folate concentrations are subnormal in the majority of patients with this abnormality (3-5), the anemia responds to treatment with pharmacologic doses of folic acid (1, 6, 7), and the routine administration of folic acid during pregnancy can prevent the development of megaloblastic anemia (3, 8, 9). Recent observations have indicated that folate deficiency, in addition to being responsible for anemia, may be present during late pregnancy without anemia (5) and may be