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Blood Diseases and Pregnancy

Sickle Cell Disease and Thalassemia

By Jennifer Lacey

Approximately 40 states in the United States mandate that hospitals must screen all newborns for sickle cell disease prior to their discharge. Early detection and treatment in newborns can help prevent some of the more serious complications of the disease.

When a woman with sickle cell disease or thalassemia delivers her baby, a neonatologist familiar with high-risk births should be available. "Newborns of women with sickle cell disease might need detoxification if the mother has required large quantities of opioids (narcotics) during the pregnancy," says Dr. Bridges. "If the neonatologists know the use, this is not a problem. Should this information not be conveyed to the neonatologists, the newborn can have withdrawal symptoms that can include seizures and death."

Since newborn infants with sickle cell disease are at risk for developing life-threatening infections, it is recommended that they receive their regular childhood vaccinations. The March of Dimes also says that studies have shown that when a baby reaches 2 months and is given a daily treatment of penicillin for approximately five years, it reduces the risk of the most serious infections by approximately 85 percent.

"While there is no cure for sickle cell disease, statistics have been encouraging with the management and treatment in the pediatric population," says Bragg-Grant.

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