CROSS-SECTIONAL ANALYSIS OF DANGERS INHERENT WITH PRE AND POST PARTUM USE OF ANTICOAGULATION THERAPY

Background:The rate of thrombotic mal-events is three-fold to five-fold greater during pre-partum and post-partum phases than at any other time in a women's life and thus many women receive anticoagulant therapy during pregnancy and puerperium, despite evidence suggesting that this therapy may pose grave danger to the well-being of the fetus and the mother. Objective: This research hopes to highlight the dangers inherent (to the mother and fetus) with the pre-partum and post-partum use of anti-coagulation therapy. Methodology This retrospective analysis is built upon the primary data, available in the hospital records, of 286 consecutive patients who received obstetric and gynecological care at Liaquat University Hospital, Hyderabad from July 2016 to December 2016. The records for screened for maternal or fetal complications and the data obtained was analyzed using SPSS v. 19.0 and MS Excel 360. Results: Maternal and fetal complications such as fetal bleeding, teratogenicity, bleeding at the utero-placental junction and major bleeding during obstetric surgery were observed among patients receiving anti-coagulation therapy during pregnancy. Osteoporosis was also a common complaint with numerous patients experiencing serious reduction in their bone density. Conclusion:Anti-coagulation therapy, despite being useful, can be a cause of grave danger to the mother and fetus and thus great care must be taken to tackle the potential teratogenic effects of anti-coagulation therapy and deal with the dosing intricacies around the time of labor. Keywords: Anti-coagulation therapy, Fetal bleeding, Fetal teratogenicity, Utero-placental junction bleeding, Osteoporosis, Pregnancy, Puerperium and Labor complications.