I had a woman contact me the other day.  She is 7-8 months pregnant and on her third pregnancy.  The first two have been fantastic and the kids have rockstar health.  This third pregnancy, she has been feeling more fatigued than the other two.  She was just attributing it to being a stay-at-home mom with two other toddlers and the physical and emotional load from chasing them all day.

At her last pre-natal appointment, the baby had a minor heart arrhythmia.  After having two pregnancies with no worries at all, this raised her concern a bit.  Truthfully she was freaked out.  At her previous appointment, some routine lab work was done.  With the increased fatigue and now a fetal heart arrhythmia with the baby, I said, “get me those labs.”  She said, “Why, my provider said everything looked fine.”  I said, “Those lab values suck.”

Those Lab Values Suck

When you look at the image, you will see all the different analytes measured.  On the right side, you will see the reference ranges.  I can’t stress enough that these values lump 95% of the population into the ‘normal and healthy’ category.  With 70-80% of healthcare claims are for chronic illness, there’s no feasible possibility or probability that 95% of the population is ‘normal and healthy.’

In the middle of the image, you will see the ‘out of range’ values.  For this woman, there were 3 values ‘out of range.’  Glucose, albumin, and immature granulocytes.  Her provider said that low albumin is often seen in pregnancy and is not a big concern.  I beg to differ.  Yes, low albumin is often seen in pregnancy but shouldn’t be swept under the rug.  Albumin is the main constituent protein in the blood.  It serves to transport hormones, vitamins, minerals,fatty acids, enzymes, amino acids, and drugs.

Yes, it may be low in pregnancy but that doesn’t mean it’s a good thing.  For that one value, think of the implications for mom and baby.  If there isn’t enough carriers for all the building blocks for the baby to develop as well as to provide mom the essentials for survival, is it a wonder mom is overly fatigued and baby has an arrhythmia?  I digress.

If we are going to use labs as a tool to assess prevention, then we have to analyze it in a range that is preventative. Click To Tweet

On the image, you will also see some hand writing.  That’s my assessment for your viewing pleasure.  When I do a lab analysis, I import the values into a spreadsheet for easy tracking and meticulously write a report on all the intricacies of everything.  To make my point here, I wrote on the actual labs.  You will see I have flagged 15 values.

The point isn’t to freak mom out anymore than she is but to uncover hidden dysfunctions that get labeled as ‘normal,’ that would explain why she is fatigued as well as the baby having an arrhythmia.

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