Changes in the mean corpuscular red cell volume in women with β-thalassaemia trait during pregnancy

Abstract
Asian women (38) with .beta.-thalassemia trait and normal Asian women(35) were studied retrospectively during normal pregnancies. The red cell size increased in both groups, with a mean increase of 2.3 Fl [femtoliters] (SD 2.3) in the women with .beta.-thalassemia trait and a significantly higher increase of 4.3 fl (SD 2.1) in the normal Asian women. The rise in red cell size during pregnancy, which is a physiological change, is impaired by defective globin-chain synthesis as well as by Fe deficiency.

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