VanderMeulen H, Strauss R, Lin Y, et al. - In this retrospective case-control study, researchers examined pregnant women that received peripartum transfusions and age-matched non-transfused controls for the prevalence of iron deficiency and anemia. Transfusion in the peripartum period was reported in 169 of 18, 294 (0.9%) women; of these, 64 (44%) received 1 unit. One hundred and three (71%) transfused women and 74 (51%) control women presented with iron deficiency or anemia in pregnancy. Per multivariate analysis, following were the significant predictors of peripartum transfusion: social work involvement, intravenous iron supplementation in pregnancy and delivery by unscheduled cesarean section. Findings thus suggest increased risk of peripartum blood transfusions and warrant early and rigorous iron supplementation among women with iron deficiency or anemia in pregnancy