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Written By: Editorial Team | Updated : April 17, 2018 2:37 PM IST
World Hemophilia Day is observed on April 17
Hemophilia is an inherited bleeding disorder which is usually inherited and passed on to a child by one or both parents. More boys than girls are affected with this disorder. There is a 50% possibility of a male child to be hemophilic and a female child to be a carrier. A person with hemophilia has a lower amount of clotting factors in the blood. Most common hemophilia is Hemophilia A which is due to the deficiency of clotting factor VIII. The other types include hemophilia B (factor IX deficiency), Von Willebrand Disease (VWD). Dr Dharma Choudhary, Director & Sr. Consultant, BLK Centre for Bone Marrow Transplant, elaborates.
Hemophiliacs are usually presented with bleeding symptoms in excess than normal people. They are further divided depending on the percentage of clotting factor levels present in blood from mild to severe. Severe hemophiliacs are the ones who suffer a lot and usually have spontaneous bleeding specifically in joints and muscles leading to joint damage like Hemophilic Arthropathy or contracture of joints. Bleeding in muscle leads to pseudotumour formation. Here are some facts about hemophilia.
Women should receive genetic counselling well in advance of a planned pregnancy about the risks of having a child affected by hemophilia. As soon as pregnancy is confirmed, the woman should consult an expert to get the best care during pregnancy and childbirth, and to minimize potential complications for both the mother and the newborn.
The carrier needs to have accurate information about few factors, before getting pregnant, like- the chances of the child having hemophilia, consequences of inheriting hemophilia for male and female children both, possible diagnosis and treatment, risk management at the time of pregnancy and childbirth, the daily lifestyle changes required for better care and risk management during pregnancy and after delivery dos and don ts.
Pre-natal diagnosis for hemophilia is readily available which will help to ascertain the probability of the fetus being affected in a known hemophilic family. One of the key preventive measures is to undergo prenatal diagnosis which will help individuals to understand the risk of having a child with hemophilia. Read:Suffering from hemophilia and planning to conceive?
Special testing before the baby s delivery can be done, like taking out the sample of blood that can be drawn from the umbilical cord and tested to find out right away whether the baby has hemophilia. Blood testing also can be done soon after a male baby is born. It is important to know immediately after birth if the baby has hemophilia or not, so that care and treatment can be planned accordingly to prevent bleeding complications for the baby.
Experts advise and proper care needs to be given to the mother and child before and after birth.
Image source: Shutterstock
