Why do white blood cells increase during pregnancy?
Got my routine blood report in 2nd trimester and my WBC count is higher than the normal range. The lab even marked it. Im not having fever or anything so just confused why this happens in pregnancy. Did anyone else's WBC go up?
Dont panic seeing that number na. Both my pregnancies my WBC was on higher side and doc said its expected. Just dont self diagnose, let her read the full report.
From what I read, the rise is your immune system adjusting for the baby. But numbers vary person to person, so best to let your own doctor interpret your report rather than googling values.
My gynac explained it to me when my report came slightly high. She said WBC naturally goes up in pregnancy because your body is working extra to protect you and the baby, so a mild increase is totally normal and not an infection. Still she compared it with my older reports just to be sure.
Pregnancy itself raises WBC, its a known thing. The body kind of stays in a slightly alert mode. Only if it's very high along with fever they look into infection, otherwise its routine.
Mine was a bit high too and I got so worried, asked others if same happened. Doc just smiled and said its normal in pregnancy. Felt so relieved honestly.
