Clinical and Hematological Features of Iron Deficiency Anemia during Pregnancy

Relevance. In some pregnant and postpartum women, a decrease in hemoglobin and erythrocyte levels is not indicative of anemia due to physiological hemodilution. By late pregnancy and in the early postpartum period, nearly every woman develops latent iron deficiency, and 30–40% of them progress to anemia. Therefore, determination of hemoglobin (Hb) levels alone is insufficient for diagnosing iron deficiency anemia (IDA); additional hematological parameters should also be evaluated.