• Mamoru Morikawa, Takashi Yamada, Takahiro Yamada, Takahiro Koyama, Rina Akaishi, Satoshi Ishikawa, Masamitsu Takeda, Ryutaro Nishida, Naoto Araki, and Hisanori Minakami.
• Department of Obstetrics, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo 060-8638, Japan.
• Hokkaido Igaku Zasshi. 2012 Aug 1; 87 (4-5): 141-6.

AimsTo determine the normal reference values for antithrombin (AT) activity, platelet count (Plt), hemoglobin concentration (Hb), and hematocrit value (Ht) immediately before vaginal delivery among healthy pregnant women with singleton pregnancies and to determine association of these blood parameters with fetal growth.MethodsA complete blood count was performed and the AT activity was examined in 300 consecutive women admitted to hospital at > or = gestational week 36 for labor pains and/or the rupture of fetal membranes. All the women were normotensive and had singleton pregnancies, and none of the women had proteinuria, a weekly weight gain > or = 0.5 kg, or other specific complications upon admission. All the women attempted a vaginal delivery.ResultsThe medians (5th-95th percentile) were 90% (71-110%) for AT activity, 234x10(9)/L (150-337x10(9)/L) for Plt, 11.0 g/dL (9.5-12.8 g/dL) for Hb, and 34.0% (30.4-38.6%) for Ht. Women with an Hb value of > or = the median (11.0 g/dL) gave birth to significantly smaller infants than their counterparts.ConclusionsA considerable number of healthy women exhibit a reduced AT activity and/or platelet count immediately before delivery. Hemoconcentration evidenced by a raised Hb value adversely effects on infant growth. Our data may be helpful when considering the normal ranges of these blood parameters for healthy parturient women.

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