Thalassemia in pregnancy.
The responsibility of the obstetrician is to identify during the first trimester women who are carriers for thalassemia. When she has been identified, the father of the baby should be screened and if he is also a carrier, the couple should be offered prenatal diagnosis. In the majority of cases, prenatal diagnosis can identify the homozygous fetus, thus allowing the family a choice in continuing the pregnancy.
Kilpatrick
S J
SJ
Department of Ob-Gyn and Reproductive Sciences, University of California at San Francisco, 94143-0132, USA.
Laros
R K
RK
D003663:Decision Trees; D005260:Female; D006580:Genetic Carrier Screening; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D011250:Pregnancy Complications, Hematologic / Q000097:blood / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis; D013789:Thalassemia / Q000097:blood / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics