What is this for? (bloodwork)

[jaylily]

Did anyone have to get blood work done in the third trimester? I only remember having to do it twice with my son (the routine blood work at the beginning and the glucose tolerance test.) My midwife wants me to get blood work done today or tomorrow (today wasn't really possible for us, so we'll go tomorrow) and I should have asked what it was for but I didn't. Does anyone know what this might be for? On the sheet she checked off "CBC w Diff w Pit"

[MamieCole]

DDC crashing and not sure about the "Diff w/ Pit" part, but my MW did a CBC around 36 weeks, mainly to check my iron levels.

[Serenyd]

a complete blood count with differential (cbc w diff) will tell you about your red and white blood cells. There are several types of white blood cells and a differential will show how many you have of each type. It also gives you some extra information about your red blood cells (size, shape, volume). This can tell the doctor what type of infection you have by what type of white blood cells are activated, or if you are anemic, different types of anemia cause differences in your red blood cells, the test will help the doctor to diagnose/treat you appropriately. I'm not sure about the pit part - I think it may have something to do with measuring the amount of platelets you have - platelets are important for clotting. HTH.

[jaylily]

Ohhh that makes sense. She was getting me to take iron. Thanks ladies!

[shakenbake]

DDC im 34 weeks and haveing my blood drawn next week bc the Stupid ob wants to check for aids again WTH he test it everytime i have it drawn if i didnt have aids 6months ago how the heck would i have it now?