Should You Worry If You Have Low Platelet Count During Pregnancy?
During pregnancy every test that you carry out can end up giving you goose bumps. Anything that shows discrepancy from the normal range can make your heart beat really fast. And if there is anything to do with blood, it is quite likely that you may hit the panic button without realizing the actual problem.
It is normal for you to react like that, but not every discrepancy is a reason to hit the ceiling.
What Are Blood Platelets?
Platelets are cells in the body that facilitate blood clotting when the body has to. Ninety five percent of people have a normal platelet count which ranges between 150 and 400 million per ml of blood.
- While most women have a normal platelet count during pregnancy about 8% of women may have low platelet count during their pregnancy.
- A low platelet count between 100 to 150 million should not be a big cause of worry.
However, if the count drops below the normal, then you may be experiencing what medically is known as Gestational thrombocytopenia.
What Is Gestational Thrombocytopenia?
Gestational thrombocytopenia usually develops in the third trimester and is not known to have any harmful effects on your baby. In fact, once you deliver your baby your platelets will get back to their normal count as well.
- Although experts do not have the exact reason, but low platelet count is said to be a side effect of pregnancy.
- If you have found out in your reports that your blood platelet count is low, you will need to make a report of this and inform your gynecologist.
Risks And Implications:
As mentioned earlier, low blood platelet count may not quite exact you but there may be one or more conditions as below that may occur as a result of the low blood platelet count:
- There could be a risk of excessive and abnormal bleeding either during or after birth or even during a Cesarean section.
- Extra caution will have to be exercised while giving you epidural to avoid any accidental puncture.
Signs And Symptoms:
Low platelet count can actually be difficult to tell by just seeing symptoms; and most often, they do not even cause any symptoms. However, in severe cases a low platelet count can result in excessive bleeding which may require urgent medical attention.
Some common symptoms that you may face as a result of low platelet count are:
- Bleeding from nose or gums.
- Heavy menstrual bleeding (you should inform you gynecologist at the time you first detect your pregnancy).
- Prolonged bleeding from wounds.
- Blood in urine or stools.
- In severe cases low platelet count may result in internal bleeding that can be seen in the form of blood with urine or stools or bleeding from your rectum.
Any bleeding that doesn’t stop is a medical emergency especially when you are pregnant and hence would undoubtedly require urgent medical attention.
Diagnosis:
Low platelet count during pregnancy is often considered to be gestational thrombocytopenia and your doctor is most likely going to consider a physical examination to ascertain the same.
- Your body will be checked for any unusual bleeding or rashes that often occur in cases of low blood platelet count.
- The most obvious next step for your doctor will be to advice a Complete blood count (CBC) test which gives a definitive answer to whether your platelets are below the normal count or not.
Treatment:
If the doctor is certain that your low platelet count is nothing but gestational thrombocytopenia, in most cases you may not be given any treatment except routine check up to keep a tab on how low the platelets are going.
If the platelets drop is a beyond a certain limit, drugs that are safe to be consumed during pregnancy may be administered by the doctor.
Though, it may seem scary, you can be rest assured that low platelet count will get okay on its own post delivery and also you need not fear as it will not affect your baby in any way.
Of course, since low platelet count is not a normal condition we do advice you to consult your doctor in case of any doubts you may have and do follow the course of treatment suggested to ensure a safe and healthy pregnancy.
If you have any anecdotes or tips regarding blood tests during pregnancy, please share them with us in the section below!
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