Thalassemic mothers and their babies.

Thirty-two mothers with thalassemia, more than half of whom had hemoglobin H disease with or without other forms of thalassemia or hemoglobinopathies along with their 46 children were evaluated. The mean maternal hematocrit was 22.2% and the mean maternal body mass index was 18.7. The majority of women were not transfused during pregnancy. Eight point seven percent developed toxemia of pregnancy. All had spontaneous labor, 69.5% had a normal vaginal delivery and 23.9% had a cesarean section. The mean infant birth weight was 2,542.2 grams. Low birth weight was found in 34.7%; no extremely low birth weights occurred.