Assessment of Coagulation and Haematological Parameters among Pregnant Women in Port Harcourt

Background: Pregnancy is the fertilization and development of an embryo or fetus in a woman's uterus. It is a critical stage of development during which maternal nutrition can strongly influence obstetric and neonatal outcomes. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of pregnancy on some coagulation and haematological parameters of pregnant women residing in Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

Method: This case-control study investigated 80 pregnant subjects and 20 non-pregnant controls. Haematological parameters were determined using a fully automated The SysmexXP-300, while the coagulation parameters (PT and INR) were determined with the automated method.

Results: The mean PT (s), HB (g/dl), PCV (%), PLT (x109/L), RBC (mcL), LYMPH (%), BASO (%) and EOSIN (%) counts were significantly lower among the pregnant subjects (5.02±5.82, 11.00±1.13 g/dl and 33.81±3.89%, 189.6±52.93 × 109/L, 3.95±0.50, 43.93±10.10 %, 0.9385±1.08 % and 1.12±1.32 %) compared to the non-pregnant controls (1.68±2.37, 12.01±1.29 g/dl, 37.31±3.39 %, 235.6±72.37 × 109/L, 4.45±0.35, 43.24±9.06, 2.11±0.94 and 2.15±1.47) respectively. There were no significant differences in the INR, MONO (%), MPV (fl), MCV (L/C), and MCH (g/c) between the pregnant subjects (0.92±0.11, 5.41±2.59 %, 11.67±4.848, 84.26±3.77 and 28.06±3.54) and non-pregnant controls (0.88±0.11, 5.58±2.65, 11.14±5.45, 82.52±10.45 and 26.96±1.85). The NEUT (%), PDW (%) and WBC (x109/L) were significantly higher among the pregnant subjects (44.90±11.24 %, 13.26±2.56 % and 8.35±2.982 x109/L) compared to the non-pregnant controls (46.63±9.96 %, 10.78±1.80 % and 4.71±0.81 x109/L).

Conclusion: This study has shown that pregnancy has a significant effect on some haematological and coagulation parameters of pregnant women in Port Harcourt. The result of this research work indicates the need to routinely monitor the complete blood count, thrombocytopenia and hyper-coagulative activity among pregnant women of African descendant.