Hello and welcome to the Zero to Finals podcast. My name is Tom and in this episode

I'm going to be talking to you about anemia in pregnancy. And you can find written notes on this

topic at zero tofinals.com slash anemia or in the antenatal care section of the Zero tofinals, obstetrics and gynecology book.

So let's get straight into it.

Anemia is defined as a low concentration of hemoglobin in the blood.

This is the result of an underlying disease and is not a disease itself.

The prefix an means without and the suffix emia relates to blood.

Hemoglobin is a protein found inside red blood cells.

It's responsible for picking up oxygen in the lungs and transporting

that oxygen to the cells of the body. Iron is an essential ingredient in creating hemoglobin

and it forms part of the structure of the hemoglobin molecule. Women are routinely screened for anemia on two occasions during an uncomplicated

pregnancy, at the booking clinic and at 28 weeks gestation. During pregnancy, the plasma volume

increases. This is the amount of fluid in the blood. This results in a reduction in the hemoglobin

concentration. The blood is becoming diluted by the higher plasma volume. It's important to

optimize the treatment of anemia during the pregnancy so that when it comes to delivery, the woman has reasonable

reserves in case there's significant blood loss.

Let's talk about the presentation.

Often, anemia in pregnancy is completely asymptomatic.

Women won't realize that they have anemia.

However, they may have symptoms of shortness of breath, fatigue,

dizziness, and palo, meaning pale skin. Let's talk about the investigations. The normal ranges

for hemoglobin during pregnancy are more than 110 grams per liter at the booking bloods,

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