Hello, and I hope I can help you today. Low platelets during pregnancy the, called thrombocytopenia, is actually a relatively common diagnosis during pregnancy. Gestational thrombocytopenia is a condition where the platelet levels drop to a level around 100 or so as the pregnancy progresses. It is caused by pregnancy itself and usually the levels return to normal after delivery. Platelets are cells within the body that are designed to help clot your blood. Normally, a low platelet count can sometimes increase bleeding time, however during pregnancy your own body produces additional clotting factors that help protect the mother from excessive bleeding during childbirth. If a mother s platelet count is above 50,000, the chance of having bleeding related complications of delivery are extremely low. Your platelets will need to be continue to be monitored until you have the baby, because other diseases of pregnancy can also cause low platelets, and your prenatal care provider will need to watch out for those. In the meantime, your thrombocytopenia does not put your health or the baby s at risk. The only way a low platelet count might affect your labor and delivery experience, is regarding pain relief and labor. Epidural anesthesia is generally not recommended with a platelet count below 100,000. So depending upon your platelet count at delivery you may or may not be eligible for epidural anesthesia. Regarding the drop in your hemoglobin and iron levels, this is also common as the baby s need for iron rises in the third trimester pregnancy. Taking an iron supplement in addition to your prenatal vitamins will help to raise your hemoglobin and maximize your blood count for the lowest risk if you were to bleed heavily during delivery. So at this point, I would not worry about your anemia and your likely gestational thrombocytopenia. Your platelet level should be monitored at least monthly until you deliver, and you should have your hemoglobin retested after taking an iron supplement for an extended period of time. I hope that I was able to adequately answer your question today, and that this information was reassuring. Best wishes for the rest of the pregnancy, Dr. Brown