Pregnancy in otherwise healthy women is linked with a greater chance of a blood clot or thrombosis. In patients with MPD, who all have more chance of blood clots and bleeding, the risks during pregnancy are greater. If you are thinking about getting pregnant it is a good idea to plan this with your doctor, who might also arrange for you to see an obstetrician as well.

More is known about ET (over 200 pregnancies reported) than PV (under 40 pregnancies) and certainly MF (less than 5). The types of problems that can occur include:

• Miscarriage - usually early but sometimes late in pregnancy
• Stunted growth of the baby (intra-uterine growth retardation or IUGR)
• Pre-eclampsia or toxaemia
• A blood clot e.g. deep vein thrombosis
• Bleeding during pregnancy or at delivery

It seems likely that the chance of these problems could be partly predicted by what has happened to you in earlier pregnancies or before pregnancy. During your pregnancy, your obstetrician will take extra scans to check your baby's growth and the blood supply to the placenta - these are called Doppler scans. This information will be used to plan treatment which can include any of the following medicines:

• Folic acid
• Aspirin
• Heparin
• Interferon Alpha
• Vitamins C and E