Anemia in pregnancy: Think beyond iron deficiency

We hereby describe a rare case of delta beta (δβ)-thalassemia as a cause of anemia in a 2-month pregnant female who was diagnosed as homozygous δβ-thalassemia after gene mutation studies. δβ-thalassemia is an unusual variant of thalassemia with elevated level of fetal hemoglobin. Homozygous patients of this disorder, unlike β-thalassemia, show mild anemia and give a clinical picture similar to that of thalassemia intermedia. However, δβ-thalassemia heterozygotes clinically show the characteristics of thalassemia minor.