ABSTRACT
Blood is taken routinely for haemoglobin estimation; this means a full blood count, as modern machines are not designed to undertake the single function of haemoglobin estimation. This test is usually carried out two or three times during a pregnancy. The leucocyte and thrombocyte counts, which are obtained incidentally, may have some screening value, and a low thrombocyte count, in particular, may require further investigation. However, it is important not to regard as abnormal the rise in leucocyte count and the fall in thrombocytes, which are both seen normally as pregnancy progresses.
