Lupus And Pregnancy – 7 Serious Risks And Complications

In case you are diagnosed with lupus and are planning to conceive, you may be worried about what effects it can leave on your baby.

Most women suffering from systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) can enjoy a normal pregnancy and expect their babies to be healthy. However, make sure you have done adequate planning and get the necessary medical assistance.

Lupus And Pregnancy:

When you want to get pregnant, it is important for you to be fully aware of the complications and risks involved. Your doctor shall predict the outcome for you as well as your baby when you have lupus and are trying to get pregnant at the same time.

In the past, women with lupus were suggested not to get pregnant, as it was considered harmful for both the mother and her baby. Even though it is a high risk pregnancy , pregnant women with lupus enjoy a successful and safe pregnancy today.

[ Read: Pcos And Pregnancy ]

What Is Lupus?

Lupus is referred as an auto immune disease that attacks the healthy tissues, rather than acting upon the viruses and bacteria. This results in inflammation. Here we shall look into the probable causes behind lupus:

• Though the exact cause behind lupus is not known, it is widely believed that some genes affect the functioning of the immune system.
• Apart from this, there are plenty of other factors such as sunlight, mononucleosis and viral infections that cause lupus.
• Even though these factors trigger lupus, the factors that may affect you may not affect another person.

[ Read: Hpv During Pregnancy ]

Problems In Pregnancy With Lupus:

Lupus does not affect your ability to get pregnant, but it increases the complications in a pregnancy. Women suffering from lupus may enjoy a risk-free pregnancy if the disease has been stabilized before pregnancy.

Otherwise, you may experience the following risk factors:

1. You may suffer from hypertension and there may be increase in protein content in your urine.
2. Chances of miscarriage increase in this case.
3. You may go into premature labor.
4. Chances of birth defects increase as a result of the medicines you take for lupus.
5. Your baby may have low birth weight.
6. You may experience blood clots in your placenta. Blood clotting interferes with nutrition and oxygen supply to your baby through the placenta.
7. You may have to get yourself admitted in hospital throughout the different stages of your pregnancy.

[ Read: Listeriosis In Pregnancy ]

Preparing For A Lupus Pregnancy:

A single test may not be able to detect lupus and it can often be hard to diagnose. In case you have lupus and plan to get pregnant, you must seek advice of your doctor.

Here is what you should know:

• Doctors generally look into the condition of lupus in the last six months before you get pregnant.
• Once you get the green signal to become pregnant, you are asked to go for anti-Ro antibodies and antiphospholipid.
• You may be referred to an obstetrician, experienced in high risk pregnancy.
• You must get in touch with the treatment team every month to know your condition.
• Your monitoring routine shall include urine test, blood test to detect increase in activity of lupus.
• In case you are at risk of transferring anti-Ro antibodies to your babies, you need to go for ultrasound exams and fetal heart monitoring and placenta.

You can enjoy a safe and successful pregnancy, keeping in mind these vital care and management routine. Even today, some doctors consider it to be a high risk pregnancy, but you need to keep on monitoring lupus pregnancy complications. Gone are the times when women were counseled not to get pregnant with lupus.

Hope you liked our post on lupus and pregnancy. Moms, share with us if you suffered from lupus and what you did to ensure a safe pregnancy in the comment section below.

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