Objective To establish the plasma evolution of prothrombin fragments 1+2 (F1+2), thrombin–antithrombin III complexes (TAT), fibrin fragment D‐Dimers (DD), von Willebrand factor antigen (vWf), Type 1 plasminogen activator inhibitor antigen (PAI) and blood platelet count during normal pregnancy and to compare these values with those obtained in hypertensive or pre‐eclamptic pregnancies. Design Cross‐sectional study. Subjects Forty‐seven healthy pregnant women with gestational age ranging between 5 and 40 weeks, and fourteen women with gestational age ranging between 25 and 38 weeks presenting with either gestational hypertension (n= 4) or pre‐eclampsia (n= 10). Numbers of nulliparous women in the control, hypertension and pre‐eclampsia groups were 13/47 (28%), 1/4 (25%) and 9/10 (90%), respectively. Results All six markers increased with gestational age in normal pregnant women (P<0.01). Using the upper limit of 95% prediction interval obtained from regression curves as normality threshold, TAT showed the best sensitivity (71%vs <30% for F 1+2, DD, vWf, PAI and platelet count). Conclusion TAT appears to be an interesting marker for detecting haemostatic system alterations in pregnancies complicated by hypertension or pre‐eclampsia. A large prospective study to determine its clinical usefulness for such complicated pregnancies is currently in progress.

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Intravenous ZDV remains an effective tool to reduce transmission in cases of virological failure, even in cART-treated women. However, for the vast majority of women with low viral loads at delivery, in the absence of obstetrical risk factors, systematic intravenous ZDV appears to be unnecessary.

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