Lupus and pregnancy

Lupus and pregnancy can present some particular challenges for both mother and child.

While most infants born to mothers who have lupus are healthy, mothers with lupus as a pre-existing disease in pregnancy should remain under medical care until delivery.[1] In general, women with lupus and, in addition, hypertension, proteinuria, and azotemia have an extra increased risk for pregnancy complications,[2][3] including miscarriage, stillbirth, pre-eclampsia, preterm birth, and intrauterine growth restriction.[4] Pregnancy outcomes in women with lupus who receive kidney transplants are similar to those of transplant recipients without lupus.[2]

Women pregnant and known to have anti-Ro (SSA) or anti-La antibodies (SSB) often have echocardiograms during the 16th and 30th weeks of pregnancy to monitor the health of the heart and surrounding vasculature.[5]

Contraception and other reliable forms of pregnancy prevention is routinely advised for women with lupus, since getting pregnant during active disease was found to be harmful. Lupus nephritis was the most common manifestation.

Of live births, approximately one third are delivered prematurely.[2]

  1. ^ "Planning a pregnancy when you have lupus | Lupus Foundation of America". www.lupus.org. Retrieved 2020-10-25.
  2. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference medscape was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Planning a pregnancy when you have lupus | Lupus Foundation of America". www.lupus.org. Retrieved 2020-10-25.
  4. ^ Baer AN, Witter FR, Petri M (2011). "Lupus and pregnancy". Obstet Gynecol Surv. 66 (10): 639–53. doi:10.1097/OGX.0b013e318239e1ee. PMID 22112525.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ "Handout on Health: Systemic Lupus Erythematosus". The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. National Institutes of Health. August 2003. Retrieved 2007-11-23.