{"id":16,"date":"2013-06-29T16:45:20","date_gmt":"2013-06-29T16:45:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/promotions.bmj.com\/ardsummaries\/?p=16"},"modified":"2013-06-29T16:45:20","modified_gmt":"2013-06-29T16:45:20","slug":"second-pregnancies-in-women-with-sle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/rheumsummaries\/2013\/06\/29\/second-pregnancies-in-women-with-sle\/","title":{"rendered":"Second pregnancies in women with SLE"},"content":{"rendered":"

INTRODUCTION<\/strong><\/p>\n

Women with systemic lupus erythematosus have a higher chance of some kinds of problems during pregnancy.\u00a0But most women who have problems with their first pregnancy, even stillbirth, have a second pregnancy\u00a0without health problems.<\/p>\n

WHAT DO WE KNOW ALREADY?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lupus is an autoimmune disease, which means it causes problems with the immune system. This can cause\u00a0health problems affecting the heart, kidneys, and skin.\u00a0There are different types of lupus illnesses, and one called systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) can affect any\u00a0part of the body. It most often affects women of childbearing age. Compared to women in the general population,
\nwomen with SLE, especially those with involvement of the kidney, are 1.5\u20133 times more likely to have\u00a0high blood pressure during their pregnancy, to need hospital treatment while pregnant, to have an unplanned\u00a0caesarean section, or have a stillborn child.<\/p>\n


\nThere have been studies that have looked at what happens to women with SLE who are having their first baby.\u00a0But there\u2019s less information about women with SLE who go on to have a second baby, especially if they had problems\u00a0during their first pregnancy. This information could be useful for women with SLE who are deciding\u00a0whether to try and get pregnant for a second time.<\/p>\n

To find out more, researchers in Australia looked at the medical records of women who gave birth in the\u00a0New South Wales region between 2001 and 2008. They recorded, for women with and without SLE, how\u00a0many women had complications or problems during their second pregnancy. In particular, they looked at how
\nmany women whose first baby was either stillborn or who died in the first 28 days after birth, went on to have\u00a0problems in their second pregnancy.<\/p>\n

WHAT DOES THE NEW STUDY SAY?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Women with SLE were more likely than women in the general population to have some kinds of health problems\u00a0during their second pregnancy or labour. These problems included bleeding during birth and blood\u00a0clots. About 11 in 100 women with SLE who had had a successful first pregnancy had a miscarriage from 20
\nweeks onward. This compares with less than 1 in 100 in the general population.<\/p>\n

Overall for women with SLE:<\/p>\n