Background: Pregnancy manifests number of change in the normal physiology. Important ofrnthese changes are those which alter the hematological parameters. Hematological profile isrnconsidered one of the factors affecting pregnancy and its outcome. Anemia is the most commonrnhematological problem in pregnancy.rnObjective: To assess the hematological profile of pregnant women in comparison with nonrnpregnant women (as a control).rnMethodology: Comparative cross sectional study was conducted from March to May, 2016, onrn110 pregnant and 110 non pregnant women at Dilla University Referral Hospital. A structured,rnpretested and interviewer administered questionnaire and laboratory tests were used to obtainrndata. Data was analyzed using the statistical soft ware SPSS version 20. Logistic regression,rnindependent t test and one way ANOVA was used. P value less than 0.05 were taken asrnstatistical significant.rnResult: The result showed that pregnant women exhibited statistically significant decrease valuernof RBC, Hb, HCT, MCHC, Lymphocyte, MID and PLT counts when compared with nonrnpregnant. White blood cell, neutrophils and MCH were significantly higher in pregnant womenrncompared to non pregnant women. No significant difference in MCV and RDW of pregnantrnwomen compared to non pregnant women. There was a significant decrease in RBC, Hb andrnHCT in the 2nd trimester compared to 1st trimester pregnancy. The RDW value increasedrnsignificantly in third trimester when compared with 1st trimester pregnancy. The prevalence ofrnanemia obtained in this study was 15.5%. Pregnant women who had primary educational levelrnwere 6.28 times more likely to be anemic compared to higher educational level.rnConclusion: There was a significant difference in the majority of hematological parametersrnbetween pregnant and non pregnant women. RBC, Hb, HCT, MCHC, Lymphocyte, MID andrnplatelet counts were significantly decreased whereas WBC, neutrophils and MCH werernsignificantly increased in pregnant women.rnTherefore, there is a need to monitor thesernparameters during pregnancy and thus improve the outcome of pregnancy.rnKey terms: Hematological profile, pregnant women, anemia