Pregnancy Outcomes in Women with Homozygous Beta Thalassaemia: A single-centre experience from Oman

Abstract

Objectives: Pregnancy in women with homozygous beta thalassaemia (HBT) carries a high risk to both the mother and fetus. The aim of this study was to investigate pregnancy outcomes among this group at a single tertiary centre.

Methods: This retrospective descriptive study was conducted between January 2006 and December 2012 on all women with HBT who received prenatal care and subsequently delivered at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman. Women who delivered elsewhere and women with the beta thalassaemia trait were excluded.

Results: Ten women with HBT were studied with a total of 15 pregnancies and 14 live births. The mean maternal age ± standard deviation (SD) was 27.9 ± 3.7 years, with a range of 24-35 years. There were 14 spontaneous pregnancies and one pregnancy following hormone treatment. Eight women had been on chelation therapy before pregnancy, one of whom needed chelation during late pregnancy. Of the pregnancies, 93% had a successful outcome with a mean ± SD gestational age at delivery of 38.6 ± 0.9 weeks, with a range of 37-40 weeks. Eight babies (57%) were delivered by Caesarean section. The mean ± SD birth weight was 2.6 ± 0.2 kg, with a range of 1.9-3.0 kg. Three babies (21%) were born with low birth weights.

Conclusion: Pregnancy is safe and usually has a favourable outcome in patients with HBT, provided that a multidisciplinary team is available. This is the first study of Omani patients with HBT whose pregnancies have resulted in a successful outcome.

Keywords: Assessment, Patient Outcomes; Chelation Therapy; Fetus; Mother; Oman; Pregnancy; Thalassemia, beta.