The purpose of this guideline is to describe the management of sickle cell disease (SCD) in pregnancy in the UK. It will cover preconception screening and antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal management of women with the condition. It will not cover the management of women with sickle cell trait. Updates from the previous guideline1 include new information on pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), more comprehensive information on pre-conceptual screening and medication review, updated information on thromboprophylaxis, aspirin and vitamin D, changes to advice on antenatal care including frequency of ultrasonography (USS) scanning. It also includes reference to the most recent National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) and RCOG guidelines. SCD comprises a group of conditions caused by the inheritance of the abnormal haemoglobin sickle gene (HbS). The most severe form of SCD is homozygous SCD (HbSS) but SCD can also be due to compound heterozygous genotypes of HbS and another haemoglobin variant (e.g., HbC, HbDPunjab, HbE or β thalassaemia, see Table I).
Declaration of Interests
The BSH paid the expenses incurred during the writing of this guidance. None of the authors had conflicts of interest to declare. All authors have made a declaration of interests to the BSH and Task Force Chairs which may be viewed on request.