Several individuals with lupus can also have safe pregnancy periods and healthy babies. Now, it does not mean that there are no risks to getting pregnant when you have this disease. Reduced kidney function, premature birth, and blood clots can develop when you get pregnant with a lupus disease diagnosis.
In that case, a doctor should closely monitor your health and may modify your treatment for lupus to protect not just you but also your baby. Here, we will discuss several things about pregnancy and lupus, including lupus symptoms women face during pregnancy.
Forms Of Lupus
SLE is among the most prevalent varieties of lupus. Every variant of lupus is rare, which is particularly accurate for the following.
- Cutaneous lupus, which includes the form of lupus that impacts the skin. Cutaneous lupus causes lesions or rashes.
- Neonatal lupus, which a mother passes on to their baby during birth. Several symptoms resolve themselves over time, but there can be severe heart complications.
- Drug-induced lupus (DIL), occurs as a reaction to some medicine types and often disappears as the patient stops consuming that drug.
Potential Complications
Developing lupus can make you more in danger of complications, like the following.
- Hypertension, which possibly contributes to preeclampsia
- Premature birth, which means birth before you are at 37 weeks pregnant
- Blood clots
- Urinary tract infection
- HELLP syndrome, which is related to preeclampsia
- Pregnancy anemia
- Gestational diabetes
Additionally, certain other severe complication can also be observed, including sepsis, heart block, neonatal lupus, kidney disease, and stillbirth. The phase and gravity of your disease play a part in specific risks as you are pregnant.
As lupus antibodies impact the function of kidneys, it is recognized as lupus nephritis. It is among the most severe potential repercussions of lupus. A lupus nephritis patient has a higher possibility of developing hypertension and preeclampsia as they are pregnant.
Lupus patients can develop Hughes syndrome as well. When you have Hughes syndrome and become pregnant, your possibility of developing blood clots at that time would be higher.
Have you been through a kidney transplantation process due to lupus? If so, you could deliver a baby safely after a healthy period of being pregnant. However, undergoing an organ transplantation process means that you have a different risk profile from others. In that case, it is important to talk to your team of healthcare professionals before pregnancy.
