Women with stable lupus can have successful pregnancies, a new study from the New York University School of Medicine found. As reported by HealthDay News, lupus can cause complications for pregnant women but if women have controlled the condition to a stable status, pregnancy can be safe.
Because lupus emerges in women during their childbearing years, the condition has caused concern for many would-be mothers. Now, researchers have offered hope to many women with stable lupus who wish to have children.
Researchers studied 333 women with lupus and followed them from their first trimester of pregnancy until three months after they gave birth. On the whole, the women’s lupus was “relatively inactive.”
In 63 of the women, however, complications occurred. Thirty women delivered before 36 weeks or had undersized infants, and 19 lost their baby. Ten percent of mothers developed preeclampsia and another 10 percent saw a flare in lupus at 32 weeks. Severe lupus flares were only experienced by less than three percent of women.
Of these complications, however, researchers noted that the women involved had higher risk factors for pregnancy-related problems such as higher levels of lupus activity, high antibodies and poor overall health. Overall, the researchers believe their work offers hope to women with lupus who want to have children.