Abstract
Sickle cell anemia is a hereditary disorder in which the red blood cells, which function as the oxygen carriers throughout the body, develop in an abnormal manner. The red blood cells are normally disk-shaped and very flexible but in sickle cell patients the cells often become very rigid and crescent shaped. This abnormality in the shape and functionality of the red blood cells hinder the normal flow of blood in the body. The red blood cells are therefore rendered unable to move freely through the blood tissues and through organs that result in the failure of certain important organs in the body. This organ failure often leads to the eventual death of the victim. Sickle cell anemia among pregnant women poses a significant threat to their health as well as the infant’s health.
Keywords: Sickle cell anemia, red blood cells, pregnant women
Aim
Is folic acid important for a sickle cell anemia patient?
Are infants of women with sickle cell anemia at risk during pregnancy?
Is there a treatment measure for the women with sickle cell anemia?
Are the women with recessive genes of sickle cell disease affected?
Introduction
Women lose a lot of blood out of their system compared to men. This is mainly through menstrual flow. Women with sickle cell anemia experience a worst-case scenario. Sickle cell anemia disfigures the red blood cells hence making them unable to transport oxygen needed by other cells and tissues successfully. Sickle cell anemia among pregnant women is a great risk (Anderson, Went, Maciver, & Dixon, 1960). During pregnancy, the woman experiences an elevated stress in her body, which increases the chances of a sickle cell anemia crisis. This attack could lead to certain complications on the woman’s organs, which might lead to a miscarriage of the baby. Despite the fact that in this cases the child has a greater chance of survival with the introduction of modern medicines and technology.
Hypothesis:
H0- Folic acid does not contribute to the health issue of pregnant women with sickle cell anemia.
H1- Folic acid is a very important component in the health of a sickle cell anemic pregnant woman.
Background
Sickle cell is a hereditary disease which deforms the red blood cells making hindering them to transport oxygen and nutrients throughout the body to the needy tissues. This paper discusses the effects and prevalence of sickle cell anemia among the pregnant women. And the countermeasures that can be used to control such kind of disorders. The research is carried out in hospitals, which has a high probability of admitting patients with the hereditary disorder.
Deficiency in iron is a prevalent deficiency especially among children and pregnant women. Anemia is normally a cause of insufficient iron nutrients in the human body. Therefore to avoid complicated situation during pregnancies where a child is born with a deficiency in iron, the pregnant women are urged to take in iron supplements and food rich in iron to supplement the iron available in the body.
Sickle Cell Anemia is a hereditary disease of the blood. Continuous uptake of irons and folic acid does not cure the condition. However, the iron in the body and the folic acid helps to generate more red blood cells that replace the infected red blood cells in the system hence making the condition less severe. The abnormal red blood cells deliver little or no nutrients and oxygen to the needy cells, however, the newly manufactured cells will take up the task to cover the void left by the infected cells.
Sickle cell disease is not curable. It can only be managed through some methods. During a sickle cell crisis, the patient can be treated by blood transfusion to neutralize a number of deformed blood cells and given plenty of fluids and also pain relievers. The doctor to ensure there are no crises that occur close to delivery should always keep pregnant women who suffer from the disease on close watch. To avoid this, the patient is given the folic acid supplements and plenty of fluids to cater for the deformed red blood cells. The primary function of the folic acid is to make new red blood cells.
Method
In a situation where the blood test does not yield any test result related to hemoglobin, a questionnaire was used to determine the origin of both parents to ensure that there were no recessive genes within either of the parents. This method can also be used in those areas where there is low prevalence of sickle cell anemia. Knowing the total rough prevalence level of sickle cell anemia in the society gives a rough estimate of the number of victims that are affected with the disorder (Sharma, 2012). And hence gives the rough estimate of the population which is used for the study. Administering the infected patients with a 1mg dosage of folic acid daily and monitoring their statuses on a daily basis helps to examine and determine the role of folic acid in the patients. From the results of the folic acid administration, we can, therefore, deduce the ultimate benefits that folic acid can bring in the health of a sickle cell anemic woman. The results of the overall test are therefore put on table and discussed accordingly.
Discussion
Women who conceive while suffering from sickle cell anemia often expose both themselves and the children whom they are carrying to so many risks. First, the organs of those kinds of women might fail due to an inadequate supply of oxygen to the cells and tissues in the body. The children could end up as stillbirths, meaning that the infant might die before being born (Lindenbaum, John, and Frederick, 1963). If born, the children might also experience certain complications in their genetic compositions that might expose them to the risk of living with sickle cell anemia once they are born. Sickle cell anemia is hereditary and is passed from one generation to the other.
During pregnancy, an infant can be affected by sickle cell differently depending on whether the sickle cell gene is dominant or recessive in the mother of the child or the father. If both parents suffer from the sickle cell disease, then it means that the overall chances of the baby acquiring a dominant sickle cell gene are very high. In that case, therefore, the child is vulnerable to contracting the disease. If the woman happens to be the one with sickle cell anemia, then high medical procedures must prevail during and after the pregnancy period. Most of the women suffering from this disorder often show severe symptoms of the disease. Some even have worse conditions when it comes to pregnancy period. This is mainly attributed to by the stress caused by pregnancy during this period (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.), 2009). In extreme conditions, excruciating pain is seen among some of the patients. In this case, medical attention can come in handy in that the pains can be reduced by medicines, which work effectively during the pregnancy period. In case of an organ failure before the woman gets pregnant, the condition might get worse with time as she enters pregnancy. Therefore, a lot of medical attention and care is recommended for such patients.
On the other hand, women with the sickle cell trait have no problem health wise since the genetic trait does not manifest phenotypically. However, such women might experience a little discomfort during pregnancy. They might experience some urinary tract infections during pregnancy. The women with just the trait in their genetic composition might also develop a certain anemia which is only caused by lack of iron in the blood. This iron in most cases is easier to manage by just taking iron supplements. During pregnancy, it is very important that the red blood cells carry blood throughout the body to help supply the infant with adequate food and nutrients in the womb.
Folic acid is also known as vitamin B complex. It is a healthy component of nutrients, which is often found in green leafy vegetables, kidney, and liver. Its deficiency during pregnancy often results in an anemic condition for either the child or the mother of the baby. These vitamins help the body to breakdown most of the complex carbohydrates into simple sugars which can be used to produce energy. Folic acid is an important component of the infant’s development even if the mother of the baby does not face a threat from sickle cell anemia traits.
For pregnant women with sickle cell anemia, folic acid is more than a necessity. Folic acid helps the patient by stimulating the body to produce more red blood cells. Despite the fact that sickle cell anemia disfigures the red blood cells, folic acid counters that mechanism to bring back the red blood cell count back to the required level. Without the folic acid, therefore, the red blood cell count reduces drastically in the blood stream making the cells deficient of oxygen and nutrients (Rabb, & Guy's Hospital, 1986). During the survey on the possible outcome of administering sickle cell patients with folic acids during pregnancy, most of the patients survived and during this time, there were no cases of organ breakdowns due to a constant supply of red blood cells due to an increase in the production of red blood cells stimulated by the folic acid.
Conclusion
In conclusion, therefore, it is important that we acknowledge that folic acid is important in managing sickle cell anemia in pregnant women. Sickle cell anemia is hereditary and is only passed when one of the parents of the infant has either a recessive or dominant gene of sickle cell anemia. Sickle cell anemia in pregnant women is a big threat to both the mother and the infant. Whereas the mother risks organ failures including heart attack, the infant risks stillbirth and miscarriage. Some of the surest ways to manage sickle cell anemia are by avoiding triggers to the effects. These triggers could include stress, heat and high altitudes. Doing regular exercise, following a specific nutrition diet avoiding smoking and staying hydrated are some of the ways in which the patients can reduce the crises of sickle cell anemia. Some patients have recurrent crises. This impairs their immune system and makes them defenseless. Therefore, they should be advised to avoid anything that might trigger the crises. However, if a patient has had an attack and the pain is still vivid, analgesic medication can be administered to reduce the level of pain and allowing for the pain to be managed effectively at home. Such patients, however, should seek medical attention more often for better health results.
References
Anderson, M., Went, L. N., Maciver, J. E., & Dixon, H. G. (January 01, 1960). SICKLE-CELL DISEASE IN PREGNANCY. The Lancet, 276, 7149, 516-521.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.). (2009). Healthy mothers have healthier babies with folic acid: Emma's story. Atlanta, Ga.?: U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Lindenbaum, John, and Frederick A. Klipstein. "Folic acid deficiency in sickle-cell anemia." New England Journal of Medicine 269.17 (1963): 875-882.
Rabb, L. M., & Guy's Hospital. (1986). Folate in homozygous sickle cell disease. London: University of London.
Scholl, Theresa O., and William G. Johnson. "Folic acid: influence on the outcome of pregnancy." The American journal of clinical nutrition 71.5 (2000): 1295s-1303s.
Sharma, Rashmi. "Management of sickle cell disease in pregnancy." Apollo Medicine 9.3 (2012): 181-183.
