What are the clinical manifestations of anemia during pregnancy?

It is not uncommon for pregnancy to be complicated by anemia. Common symptoms include general fatigue, dizziness, tinnitus, or palpitations and shortness of breath. Especially those with severe anemia may also show symptoms of edema, pale complexion, loss of appetite, and diarrhea.

1. In mild cases, the skin and mucous membranes are slightly pale, with no obvious symptoms. In severe cases, the patient has a yellow-pale complexion, general fatigue, weakness, dizziness, tinnitus, blurred vision, palpitations, shortness of breath, and easy fainting during activities, accompanied by hypoproteinemia, edema, and severe cases with ascites.

2. In latent iron deficiency, iron storage is reduced, but the red blood cell count, hemoglobin content, and serum ferritin are all within the normal range, and there are no clinical symptoms of anemia.

3. Early iron deficiency anemia Iron deficiency continues to develop, resulting in a decrease in red blood cell production, but there is still sufficient hemoglobin in each red blood cell, which is called "normocytic anemia". Clinically, there may be symptoms of mild anemia such as slightly pale skin and mucous membranes, fatigue, weakness, hair loss, abnormal nails, glossitis, etc.

4 Severe iron deficiency anemia Iron deficiency worsens, and the available iron in the bone marrow immature red blood cells is completely lacking. Bone marrow hematopoiesis is significantly impaired, the number of red blood cells further decreases, and each red blood cell cannot obtain enough iron to synthesize hemoglobin, leading to an increase in the number of hypochromic small red blood cells, that is, "microcytic hypochromic anemia", manifested by typical symptoms such as pale complexion, edema, fatigue, dizziness, tinnitus, palpitations and shortness of breath, loss of appetite, abdominal distension, diarrhea, or even accompanied by ascites.