Are you pregnant! Warm greetings but at the same time it is better to be a bit selfish and think about you along with the developing baby. Most women accidentally donate blood while pregnant and there is no better feeling that helping a fellow human being at this juncture.

What are the reasons why a pregnant woman cannot donate blood?

Medical experts are of the view that you should donate blood during pregnancy. You could feel that this might not be fair or a form of discretion. You need to sustain this blood for the development of the baby. Still if you go on to donate blood you are putting a risk on the blood circulation of the baby.

Till date no clear reason exists on why a pregnant woman cannot donate blood. Anaemia poses to be a big concern during pregnancy and when you go on to donate blood this compounds the problem. Taking a step ahead you are not even allowed to donate blood during you are breastfeeding your baby. Still if you continue to donate blood after this period, the blood bank may ask you to wait till you are no longer breastfeeding the baby. The reason being that a baby depends on the breast milk for all their nutrient needs. Once you donate blood you deprive the baby from the essential nutrients. By waiting for nine months you provide an opportunity to replenish the blood. This is an answer to the question can you donate plasma when pregnant.

In countries like US you are allowed to donate blood six weeks after delivery, but still you need to think long and hard if you are planning to go ahead. Even though there could be no apparent reason for preventing a pregnant woman from donating blood, then why to risk it? To be a pregnant is not a handicap, but it promises to be a tough job. You need to be at your health best to allow the tiny flame to nurture inside you. Already you are going to be poked by endless number of needles during pregnancy, why not add one more needle and compound the problem.

In case if you feel that you could be healthy and planning to donate blood, the chances are that you might be turned away from the blood bank. A lot of people cannot go on to donate blood and the reasons are

• If you happen to be pregnant

• In case if you are suffering from cough or cold

• In the last couple of weeks if you had any form of infection

Compiling the list of people who cannot donate blood is long and some of the reasons could be very silly. But the whole purpose of donating blood is to give a new lease of life to someone else.

When you are pregnant if you end up donating blood, the person whom you go on to harm is yourself the most. Just you need to think about yourself and donate blood later.