Sickle Cell Disease in Pregnancy

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is the most common hereditary disorder and affects 30 million people worldwide. Advances in science have improved overall survival in patients with SCD and as such, more patients are reaching reproductive age and are becoming pregnant. SCD in pregnancy leads to multiple complications that put both the mother and fetus at risk, and patients with SCD have six times the mortality during pregnancy as compared with patients without SCD. This review summarizes the maternal and fetal risks of patients with SCD and makes recommendations on how best to care for these patients throughout all stages of pregnancy.