Another example is sickle cell disease. Sickle cell disease is very painful. It is caused by crescent shaped blood cells as opposed to regular, oval shaped blood cells. These crescent shaped cells get stuck along blood vessels and restrict blood flow. This can cause chronic pain and may eventually lead to organ damage. There are many side effects that people with the disease are at risk of getting. If a woman with the disease gets pregnant, though, her risks are even higher. The more serious risks include: worsening anemia, vaso-occlusive crises, acute chest syndrome, stroke, and possibly even death (Montalembert 626-627). Anemia is simply an iron deficiency, but can be detrimental during pregnancy. If anemia is terribly severe, the mother may have to have painful bone marrow transfusions until the hemoglobin levels are maintained. When a person develops anemia along with the sickle cell disease, it can lead to death due to losing blood faster than it can be regained. Vaso-occlusive crises are massive pain spasms that can lead to fever and possibly mild elevation of liver enzymes. Acute chest syndrome may not seem to be all that bad at first. It starts as a seemingly innocent cough or a mild fever, but leads into intense chest pain. If acute chest syndrome persists, organ failure can occur. In more serious cases, congestive heart failure occurred from both worsening anemia and acute chest syndrome (Koshy 161-162). As stated before, these are all risk factors for anyone suffering from sickle cell anemia, but the risks are highly increased when it comes to pregnant
Another example is sickle cell disease. Sickle cell disease is very painful. It is caused by crescent shaped blood cells as opposed to regular, oval shaped blood cells. These crescent shaped cells get stuck along blood vessels and restrict blood flow. This can cause chronic pain and may eventually lead to organ damage. There are many side effects that people with the disease are at risk of getting. If a woman with the disease gets pregnant, though, her risks are even higher. The more serious risks include: worsening anemia, vaso-occlusive crises, acute chest syndrome, stroke, and possibly even death (Montalembert 626-627). Anemia is simply an iron deficiency, but can be detrimental during pregnancy. If anemia is terribly severe, the mother may have to have painful bone marrow transfusions until the hemoglobin levels are maintained. When a person develops anemia along with the sickle cell disease, it can lead to death due to losing blood faster than it can be regained. Vaso-occlusive crises are massive pain spasms that can lead to fever and possibly mild elevation of liver enzymes. Acute chest syndrome may not seem to be all that bad at first. It starts as a seemingly innocent cough or a mild fever, but leads into intense chest pain. If acute chest syndrome persists, organ failure can occur. In more serious cases, congestive heart failure occurred from both worsening anemia and acute chest syndrome (Koshy 161-162). As stated before, these are all risk factors for anyone suffering from sickle cell anemia, but the risks are highly increased when it comes to pregnant