Pregnancy in women suffering from multiple sclerosis still raises many questions. Can MS patients get pregnant at all, is such a pregnancy complicated and - which is probably the most important thing for many patients - does a woman suffering from multiple sclerosis have a chance of giving birth to a he althy child?

Pregnancyin a woman who heard the diagnosis:multiple sclerosis( SM , sclerosis multiplex ) is usually disturbing. There are doubts about becoming a mother - they may concern both whether pregnancy will worsen the course of their disease, and whether it is possible to get pregnant at all with MS.

SM and pregnancy: can sick women become mothers?

It needs to be emphasized that yes - patients suffering from multiple sclerosis can definitely become pregnant. In the scientific studies conducted so far, it has not been reported that MS interferes with the possibility of fertilization. Numerous doctors have also analyzed whether the disease leads to an increased risk of pregnancy complications, such as premature birth, spontaneous miscarriage or the appearance of malformations in children. It turned out that, compared to women without MS, the incidence of such events in MS patients is not increased.

The impact of pregnancy on MS

During pregnancy, the course of the patient's multiple sclerosis may either improve or worsen. In the case of the former, it was noted that in many pregnant patients the disease activity decreases (it is especially noticeable in the 2nd and 3rd trimester of pregnancy). It is not fully known what is responsible for the occurrence of such a dependence. The period of intrauterine development of a child is generally a time when many substances with immunosuppressive activity are secreted in the female body. Reducing the activity of the immune system is aimed at, inter alia, that the mother's body does not attack the cells of the baby she is expecting. Some scientists believe that it is the weakened immune system that causes the alleviation of the course of MS in pregnant women. Just as during pregnancy, MS may be milder, but unfortunately the opposite situation may occur after the baby is born into the world. According to statistics, the risk of an MS relapse afterchildbirth ranges from 20 to 40%, with the greatest occurrence three to six months after the end of pregnancy. However, it may be comforting to know that such relapses most often do not lead to permanent neurological deficits in patients.

Worth knowing

Good to know

MS ( sclerosis multiplex , multiple sclerosis) occurs when the protective material, the myelin around the nerves in the central nervous system (i.e. the brain and spinal cord), is damaged. Damage to the myelin slows down, distorts, or even inhibits the transmission of information from the brain to other parts of the body, which causes them to stop working properly. It most often affects young people, with a peak prevalence between the ages of 20 and 40, and a slight prevalence of cases in women than in men. The disease is one of the most common causes of disability in young people, although many patients may experience mild disability.

The most common symptoms are: movement, sensory and cerebellar disorders (balance disorders), visual disturbances, autonomic disorders, pain syndromes, chronic fatigue.

MS and pregnancy: sometimes you need to change your treatment

In the treatment of multiple sclerosis, two types of treatment are primarily used: the first is relieving relapses and related symptoms, the second is the use of drugs that affect the immune system, which are to inhibit the progression of MS. In relapses of MS, patients are given glucocorticosteroids. If a relapse occurs during pregnancy, this type of pharmacotherapy can be used in patients. The situation regarding pharmacotherapy aimed at inhibiting the progression of the disease is somewhat different. Immunomodulatory drugs such as interferon preparations, glatiramer acetate or natalizumab may have adverse effects on the developing fetus. In general, treatment of multiple sclerosis with these agents is not started during pregnancy, and if you have used such preparations before getting into pregnancy, you may need to stop taking them. A similar situation applies to the period after dissolution. If you wish to breastfeed, some medications may pass into the human milk because some medications may pass into the breast milk and may not be used naturally by breastfeeding women. For the above reasons, patients with MS who wish to become pregnant are advised talking to your neurologist about it. Early planning of possible changes in pharmacotherapy or other interactions may increase the chances that the course of pregnancy in a patient with MS will be uneventful.

Will the mother's child with MS get this disease?

Certainly many people with MS who would like to have a child are wondering: what if I pass my disease on to a child? Such doubts can be considered completely natural, but the conclusions drawn by scientists raise quite high hopes. Although inherited genes are involved in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis, the disease most likely develops when a patient with genetic abnormalities also experiences other disorders (e.g. exposure to certain environmental factors). Ultimately, according to statistics, it turns out that the chances of having a he althy child by a patient suffering from multiple sclerosis are even above 90%.

MS treatment - new drugs, new therapies

medications and therapies available to patients with MS, says Dr. n. med. Barbara Zakrzewska-Pniewska, Department of Neurology, Medical University of Warsaw. The statement was recorded during the scientific conference "Physiotherapy for he alth".

Category:

Neurology