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Sickle Cell Anemia in Babies

Sickle cell anemia is a blood disorder that affects the red blood cells and most states test newborns for sickle cell anemia before they leave the hospital after birth. Babies with sickle cell anemia may have mild, moderate or severe symptoms and could require life-long treatments. Sickle cell anemia is not immediately fatal, but it can shorten average lifespan to about 40 to 50 years.

  1. Causes of Sickle Cell Anemia

    • A baby can only inherit sickle cell anemia from her parents if the parents both pass on the hemoglobin S gene. If the baby inherits only one hemoglobin S gene, he will be a trait carrier who may pass the disease on to his children. Trait carriers do not have the disease themselves or any of its symptoms, but they do carry the risk of passing the disease on to their offspring. One out of every 12 African Americans carries the sickle cell anemia trait and 1 out of every 16 Hispanics carry the trait.

    Risk of Sickle Cell Anemia

    • Sickle cell anemia affects mainly African Americans. According to Baby Center, approximately 1 out of every 500 African American children born in the U.S. has sickle cell anemia, which means that the baby inherited the hemoglobin S gene from both parents and will suffer the effects or symptoms for a lifetime. Hispanics are also at risk for sickle cell anemia. Approximately 1 out of every 900 Hispanic babies will be born with sickle cell anemia.

    Effects of Sickle Cell Anemia

    • This condition causes some of the red blood cells to be crescent shaped rather than round and to be stiffer than normal. The deformed cells are not able to flow through the vessels properly and sometimes get stuck inside the vessels. When this occurs, the affected individual will experience pain. The accumulation of red blood cells inside the vessels may also cause damage to the organs and increase infection risks.The affected cells also have a shorter life-span than healthy blood cells which results in a deficiency of red blood cells known as anemia.

    Symptoms of Sickle Cell Anemia

    • Symptoms of sickle cell anemia are fatigue, weakness, pain episodes, spleen enlargement and pain, compromised immune system, strokes, difficulty breathing, chest pain, vision problems and jaundice.

    Treatments

    • Mild pain may be treated with over-the-counter pain medications and anti-inflammatory medications. Severe pain episodes will usually require a hospital stay so that IV pain medications can be administered. Blood transfusions may be needed to treat anemia and to help decrease the risks of strokes and spleen damage. Penicillin may be given to babies on a daily basis to prevent infections.

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