ACOG Practice Bulletin No. 78: Hemoglobinopathies in Pregnancy

Abstract

The hemoglobinopathies are a heterogeneous group of single-gene disorders that includes the structural hemoglobin variants and the thalassemias. More than 270 million people worldwide are heterozygous carriers of hereditary disorders of hemoglobin, and at least 300,000 affected homozygotes or compound heterozygotes are born each year. The purpose of this document is to review the most common hemoglobinopathies and to provide recommendations for screening and clinical management of hemoglobinopathies during pregnancy.