Can thalassemia minor affect pregnancy?

Question

Hello doctor,

I have had thalassemia minor since I was born. I inherited this from my mother. I have only taken a slow iron pill when I am on my period; this is the extent of it, and I find I can be fatigued sometimes as well, though I know it is because of this. Do I need to go to a hematologist before we start to plan for pregnancy, or can I go to a regular obstetrician-gynecologist? In addition, I have started taking prenatal, but they have iron in them. Should I be taking prenatal without iron? Kindly help.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to the icliniq.com.

Thalassemia is an autosomal recessive disorder. So the first investigation you must do is rule out thalassemia minor in your husband. For that, investigate your husband with hemoglobin electrophoresis by the HPLC (High-performance liquid chromatography) method. Next, I suggest consulting a hematologist. Also, I suggest taking an iron tablet or iron-containing preparation to raise your hemoglobin level, but that should be under your doctor's observation.

You can provide your husband's report to guide you further; it will be troublesome if he has minor thalassemia.

I hope this helps.

Thank you.