Risk factors for thrombophilia in expatriate pregnant Sudanese women in Eastern Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Six hundred thousands women die annually of pregnancy-related causes. The majority (98%) of these deaths occurs in developing countries. Pregnancy complications are the leading causes of death among women of reproductive age in developing countries. During pregnancy and puerperium, many changes affect the coagulation and fibrinolytic systems predisposing pregnant women to thrombotic episodes. The overall balance shifts towards hypercoagulability. This phenomenon is probably due to hormonal changes to protect pregnant women from fatal haemorrhage during delivery, but predispose them to thromboembolic phenomena especially if one or more additional congenital or acquired risk factor(s) ensue.