Megaloblastic Anemia of Pregnancy in New York City
Authors: CHRISTINE LAWRENCE
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1967)

Article1 January 1967Megaloblastic Anemia of Pregnancy in New York CityCHRISTINE LAWRENCE, M.D., FREDERICK A. KLIPSTEIN, M.D.CHRISTINE LAWRENCE, M.D.Search for more papers by this author, FREDERICK A. KLIPSTEIN, M.D.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-66-1-25 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptMegaloblastic anemia of pregnancy occurs characteristically during the last trimester of pregnancy or during the puerperium (1-3) and in temperate climates is usually secondary to folate deficiency. Serum folate concentrations are subnormal in the majority of patients with this abnormality (3-5), the anemia responds to treatment with pharmacologic doses of folic acid (1, 6, 7), and the routine administration of folic acid during pregnancy can prevent the development of megaloblastic anemia (3, 8, 9). Recent observations have indicated that folate deficiency, in addition to being responsible for anemia, may be present during late pregnancy without anemia (5) and may be...References1. GILESSHUTTLEWORTH CEM: Megaloblastic anaemia of pregnancy and the puerperium. Lancet 2: 1341, 1958. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. GATENBYLILLIE PBEW: Clinical analysis of 100 cases of severe megaloblastic anaemia of pregnancy. Brit. Med. J. 2: 1111, 1960. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. GILES C: An account of 335 cases of megaloblastic anaemia of pregnancy and the puerperium. J. Clin. Path. 19: 1, 1966. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. IZAKRACHMILEWITZSADOVSKYBERCOVICIARNOVITCHGROSSOWICZ GMABJN: Folic acid metabolites in whole blood and serum in anemia of pregnancy. Amer. J. Clin. Nutr. 9: 473, 1961. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. LOWENSTEINBRUNTONHSIEH LLY: Nutritional anemia and megaloblastosis in pregnancy. Canad. Med. Ass. J. 94: 636, 1966. MedlineGoogle Scholar6. 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Y.This study was supported by grant U-1438 from the Health Research Council of the City of New York and by grants 5M 01 00050 and CA-02332 from the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md.Requests for reprints should be addressed to Christine Lawrence, M.D., Department of Medicine, Jacobi Hospital, Pelham Parkway, Bronx, N. Y. 10461. 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