Figure 1:Mean hemoglobin (g/dL) change (squares) pre (months 1–
8) and post (months 9–16). Two standard deviations above (circles)
and below(triangles).The curve for themean hemoglobin is the best
fit third-degree polynomial.
GraphPad Prism (GraphPad Software, San Diego, CA)
was used for statistical analyses. The mean change in
hemoglobin was compared between the two groups by Student’s
t-test. The mean change in hemoglobin was calculated
for each month and a best fit multiple regression polynomial
curve was constructed for each time series and compared
by the extra sum of squares F test. Women who received
blood productswere excluded fromthe hemoglobin analyses.
The rates of blood transfusion in the two groups were
compared using Fisher’s exact test. A