There is an increase in the total blood volume, the plasma volume and the red cell volume during pregnancy. The total blood volume increases by about 30-40% by about 34 weeks of pregnancy. There is a relative increase in plasma with respect to red cells - 45% increase in plasma versus 18% increase in red cells respectively. This imbalance causes a haemodilution.
During pregnancy there is also an increase in white cells from about 7 x 10^9 to 15 x 10^9 per litre solely due to a neutrophilia. There is also a rise in the number of platelets from 180 x 10^9 to over 300 x 10^9 during pregnancy. This rise continues in the puerperium.
The erythrocyte sedimentation rate increases during pregnancy due to an increase in fibrinogen and globulin levels; there is however a fall in the amount of albumin.
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