Multiple sclerosis and pregnancy
Women of childbearing age make a majority of patients with multiple sclerosis. . In the past, due to observed effect of pregnancy on increased disease activity, there was dilemma whether women with MS should have children. Current knowledge, that pregnancy is not correlated with disease progression in the long run, has shifted focus to dilemmas about therapy choice, in women planning offspring, of drug treatment during the pregnancy and breastfeeding period. Among MS drugs, only interferon beta and glatiramer acetate are approved for use during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Decision about appropriate therapy for women of childbearing age should be based on the estimation of disease activity and the estimation of a chance for planned or unplanned pregnancy. MS is not contraindication for a normal vaginal delivery, nor for the use of epidural anesthesia.
Key words:
breastfeeding; family planning; immunomodulatory therapy, multiple sclerosis; pregnancy
