(RxWiki News) In the past, women with multiple sclerosis (MS) were told not to get pregnant because of fears that their disease would get worse. However, a new study shows that women with MS do not have to worry about getting pregnant.
Looking at earlier studies, researchers found that it is about as safe for women with MS to have a baby as it is for healthy women. In fact, women with multiple sclerosis have slightly less flare-ups of their disease when they are pregnant.
"It is safe for women with MS to get pregnant."
The review of past research - which was conducted by Dr. Yara D. Fragoso, of the Universidade Metropolitana de Santos in Brazil, and colleagues - also shows that pregnant women with MS do not have a higher risk of complications.
The authors conclude that these findings give women with multiple sclerosis and their families something to consider when they are thinking about getting pregnant.
In Depth
For their study, Fragoso and colleagues looked at 22 studies that reported on more than 13,000 women with MS and their pregnancies. The researchers found:
- It is just as safe for women with MS to get pregnant as it is for women without MS
- Women with MS have slightly fewer flare-ups during pregnancy, and slightly more flare-ups after giving birth
- Pregnant women with MS and their babies do not have a higher risk of complications such as miscarriages, low birthweight, premature birth, newborn death, and malformations
