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Failure to demonstrate postpartum functional iron deficiency using quantitative red blood cell analysis
1Department of Gynecology, University Medical Center Benjamin Franklin, Berlin, Germany.
Objective:
The aim of this prospective study was to assess erythropoiesis and test for functional iron deficiency in the postpartum period using quantitative red blood cell analysis.
Study Design:
Parameters were determined on admission for delivery and postpartum from 82 obstetric patients at Zurich University Hospital: full blood count, hypochromic and microcytic red cells, reticulocyte count (including subsets), reticulocyte mean corpuscular volume, reticulocyte mean hemoglobin content and reticulocyte mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration.
Results:
Microcytic cells increased from 0.9% prepartum to 1.4% on day 42 postpartum; hypochromic cells decreased from 4.3 to 1.9%; reticulocyte mean corpuscular volume decreased from 134 to 125 fl; reticulocyte mean hemoglobin content was unchanged.
Conclusion:
To our knowledge, this is the first medium scale application of quantitative red blood cell analysis to normal pre- and postpartum women. Our data show no evidence of functional iron deficiency or increased erythropoiesis in the postpartum period.