Can having Lupus effect whether or not you can have a baby?

Question

I have had lupus for 10 years and never on birth control. Because of my Lupus I will not be able to have my own child?

Answer 1

First of all, this question is one that can only be answered by your physician because he/she knows exactly how your disease has affected your body. Please do NOT make any decisions without consulting your physician.

There is good news, however. According to one of my nursing texts, Medical-Surgical Nursing (Black and Hawks), "Relapses of SLE can occur at any time during pregnancy but have not shown an increase in the risk of fetal loss. The incidence of replapses during pregnancy varies from 22% to 58%. However, most disease exacerbation can be reasonably well controlled with increasing doses of prednisone."

You doctor will advise you if your body is strong enough to withstand a pregnancy. Some patient's kidneys are at end-stage failure and they may not be able to withstand the stress of a pregnancy.

Other things to consider would include the number and frequency of your remissions. Do you have someone in your life to help care for your child during relapses? You may also wish to consult with a genetic counselor to determine the chance of passing on the gene to your children.

I hope this information has helped. You may also visit the following links for more information:

http://www.lupus.org/newsite/index.html
http://www.medicinenet.com/systemic_lupus/article.htm
http://www.niams.nih.gov/hi/topics/lupus/slehandout/

Best of luck!!

Answer 2

If they've discovered a genetic test for Lupus that's news to me and yippee - it means progress. I've never heard of this, though, since whether or not a person gets Lupus is largely dependent on the interaction of environment with genetic predisposition.

I was diagnosed with SLE when I was five months pregnant with my first child. I was in a state of fairly severe relapse. I was put on high doses of prednisone and delivered two weeks early, a healthy baby girl weighing in at 6 lbs 5.5 oz.

My doctor suggested that because my SLE was active, I consider not having any more children. I was young and did not want to listen, and conceived again when my daughter was 9 months old. Although the second pregnancy was harder because I was caring for a baby already, I safely delivered a 7 lb 6.5 oz baby boy.

One year later I miscarried a baby very early on. However, three months later I conceived again. This pregnancy was marred by the fact that I had placenta previa, so I spent the last five weeks of pregnancy in hospital because of some hemorrhaging. However, one month early, my third and final child, a boy, was born by scheduled Caesarean section, weighing in at 6 lbs 7 oz. I had my tubes tied at the time of the C section.

Eighteen months later I had a hysterectomy because my periods had become so heavy and long that my body didn't have time to recover in between, and I was in a constant state of relapse and exhaustion.

If you want to consider parenthood, TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR. Get checked out physically to determine if you can safely experience pregnancy. Then make your decision with that information in hand.

When I was diagnosed with SLE 20 years ago this month, I was told that I should never consider pregnancy. From what I know of what specialists are telling young women now, this has changed a lot. Then again, when I was diagnosed I was also told my life expectancy was 40 and I'm turning 42 this spring.....

Answer 3

I am currently going through the process of getting ready to get pregnant. I was Dx w/ lupus 4 years ago and have had good control for the past 3 years. Lupus does not affect your ability to get pregnant, there are just more risks involved to you and your baby. Mainly a slighter higher risk of miscarriage and a higher risk of premature delivery. I had to use and IUD for birth control which I recently had removed.(estrogen in oral birth control can trigger lupus). I have been tested for antiphospholipid antibodies which can cause clotting during pregnancy and I am going to a maternal fetal monitoring doctor for a preconception screening. Also I had to change some of my medications. The most important thing is to have good control of your disease before getting pregnant and to follow up with your doctors. My rheumotologist and ob/gyn are in close contact. Lupus.org is a good website for more info.