title: Pregnancy in sickle cell-haemoglobin C (SC) disease. A retrospective study of birth size and maternal weight gain.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess pregnancy and fetal outcomes in Jamaican subjects with sickle cell-haemoglobin C (SC) disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective chart review over 21 years (1992-2012) of all pregnancies in SC disease and a comparison group matched by gender and date of delivery in mothers with a normal haemoglobin (AA) phenotype at the University Hospital of the West Indies, Jamaica. There were 118 pregnancies in 81 patients with SC disease and 110 pregnancies in 110 in the normal comparison group. Corrections were made for repeat pregnancies from the same mother. Outcome measures included maternal weight at 20, 25, 30, 35 and 38 weeks gestation, maternal pregnancy complications, birth weight, head circumference and crown heel length and were used to analyse possible predictors of birth weight.
  
  
  RESULTS
  First antenatal visits occurred later in women with SC disease, who also had lower haemoglobin level and lower systolic blood pressure. The prevalence of pregnancy-induced hypertension, pre-eclampsia, ante-partum or postpartum haemorrhage did not differ between genotypes. Maternal weight gain was significantly lower in SC disease and there was a significantly lower birth weight, head circumference, and gestational age.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Pregnancy in SC disease is generally benign but mothers had lower weight gain and lower birth weight babies, the difference persisting after correction for gestational age.
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Health, University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston, Jamaica. Electronic address: Minerva.thame@uwimona.edu.jm.
authors.forename: Minerva M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Thame
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Health, University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston, Jamaica.
authors.forename: Indira
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Singh-Minott
authors.affiliation: MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
authors.forename: Clive
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Osmond
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Health, University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston, Jamaica.
authors.forename: Roxanne H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Melbourne-Chambers
authors.affiliation: Sickle Cell Trust (Jamaica), Kingston, Jamaica.
authors.forename: Graham R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Serjeant
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001724:Birth Weight / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006450:Hemoglobin SC Disease / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D046110:Hypertension, Pregnancy-Induced / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011250:Pregnancy Complications, Hematologic / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D011295:Prenatal Care; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015430:Weight Gain / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Birth weight; Haemoglobin SC disease; Weight gain