Lupus In Pregnancy: What You Need To Know

What are the risks to the mother and fetus of lupus in pregnancy? Nowadays, the therapeutic management of the disease has significantly improved. In fact, side effects can be eliminated by drug treatment.

It should be noted that many of the complications caused by lupus in pregnancy are related to pharmacology. Medications prescribed to control lupus often cause infertility or malformations of the fetus.

For this reason, women with lupus are always instructed to plan their pregnancy well in advance. Thus, doctors have time to adapt the treatment to the presence of pregnancy. This is currently possible due to the development of new treatment methods with innovative active principles.

In this article, you will find that women who suffer from lupus can have a safe pregnancy if they plan it correctly. They will have to undergo more checks and tests than other pregnant women without this condition, but they can give birth to a healthy baby.

Lupus is an autoimmune disease. This means that the immune system attacks the body’s cells because it does not recognize them. For example, it identifies certain tissues as external or threatening and inflames them with a reaction similar to the one that occurs when we fight viral or bacterial diseases.

The pathology is chronic and evolves in the form of exacerbated negative reactions. Periods of inactivity can occur when there are no symptoms, but acute episodes are severe and disabling.

The tissues most affected by lupus are the articular, dermal and renal tissues. There is also involvement of the lungs and brain, although the characteristic symptoms of the disease occur in the joints and skin.

When we talk about lupus and pregnancy, we are referring to a woman with a previous diagnosis of lupus who becomes pregnant at some point. This can be problematic because some records show an increase in the incidence of pregnancy problems in women with this condition.

In addition, there is a possibility of neonatal lupus. This happens when the baby receives antibodies that cause lupus in the mother’s body. This child will most likely have skin and blood problems and, in severe cases, may have heart problems.

Medicines for lupus and infertility

When we talk about lupus and pregnancy, we must first talk about lupus and fertility. The truth is that women with lupus should have no more difficulty than others in getting pregnant, although medications play a key role in this process.

People with lupus use medications that can alter their ability to get pregnant. For example, cyclophosphamide is a commonly used drug for lupus that changes the long-term viability of the ovaries.

Therefore, it is important that women who want to become pregnant and have a diagnosis of lupus consult their doctor in advance. Therapeutic plans can be modified to promote fertility. What some doctors do is combine leuprolide, another drug, with cyclophosphamide to reduce infertility.

Similarly, many lupus drugs are teratogenic, so they can cause birth defects in the fetus, especially in the first trimester of pregnancy. Pregnancy should be planned in advance with the doctor treating the woman with lupus.

Lupus in pregnancy: complications

• Problems

Lupus and pregnancy are compatible

Despite the complications, lupus and pregnancy are certainly compatible. Women diagnosed with lupus who intend to become pregnant should consult a doctor to plan everything in detail well in advance. The correct development of the baby will depend on this planning.

Thank you for reading and we hope you enjoyed this article!