Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-669899f699-tpknm Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-04-30T04:13:07.302Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 1 - Anatomical and Physiological Changes in Pregnancy

Impact on Emergency Care

from Section 1 - General Principles

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 May 2021

By
Niraj Yanamandra  and
Edwin Chandraharan
Edited by
Edwin Chandraharan  and
Sir Sabaratnam Arulkumaran
Edwin Chandraharan
Affiliation:
St George's University of London
Sir Sabaratnam Arulkumaran
Affiliation:
St George's University of London
Get access

Summary

There is an overall increase in plasma, red blood cells (RBCs) and total blood volume. Plasma volume increases by 15% during the first trimester; accelerates in the second trimester; peaks at around 32 weeks, reaching up to 50% above non-pregnant levels; and stays elevated until term. It returns to non-pregnant levels by 6 days post-delivery. There is often a sharp rise of up to 1 litre in plasma volume within the maternal circulation at 24 hours after delivery.

Type
Chapter
Information
Obstetric and Intrapartum Emergencies
A Practical Guide to Management
 , pp. 1 - 9
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Book purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Andersen, B, Nielsen, TF. Appendicitis in pregnancy: diagnosis, management and complications. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 1999;78:758–62.Google Scholar
Yilmaz, HG, Akgun, Y, Bac, B, Celik, Y. Acute appendicitis in pregnancy – risk factors associated with principal outcomes: a case control study. Int J Surg. 2007;5:192–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chandraharan, E, Arulkumaran, S. Minor disorders in pregnancy. In Arulkumaran, S (ed.), Essentials in Obstetrics. New Delhi: Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers; 2007, 115–17.Google Scholar
Chandraharan, E, Arulkumaran, S. Acute abdomen and abdominal pain in pregnancy. Obstet Gynaecol Reprod Med. 2008;18:205–12.Google Scholar
Cathy Nelson-Piercy on behalf of the MBRRACEUK Thrombosis and Thromboembolism Chapter Writing Group. Prevention and treatment of thrombosis and thromboembolism. In Knight, M, Tuffnell, D, Kenyon, S, Shakespeare, J, Gray, R, Kurinczuk, JJ (eds.) on behalf of MBRRACE-UK, Saving Lives, Improving Mothers’ Care: Surveillance of Maternal Deaths in the UK 2011–13 and Lessons Learned to Inform Maternity Care from the UK and Ireland Confidential Enquiries into Maternal Deaths and Morbidity 2009–13. Oxford: National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit, University of Oxford, 2015; 42–52.Google Scholar
Osman, MW, Nath, M, Khalil, A, Webb, DR, Robinson, TG, Mousa, HA. Haemodynamic differences amongst women who were screened for gestational diabetes in comparison to healthy controls. Pregnancy Hypertens. 2018; 14:23–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buddeberg, BS, Sharma, R, O’Driscoll, JM, Kaelin Agten, A, Khalil, A, Thilaganathan, B. Cardiac maladaptation in obese pregnancy at term. Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol. 2019;54(3):344–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×