Pregnancy and rheumatism

  Pregnancy has different effects on different rheumatic immune diseases. Pregnancy often contributes to relapses in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and systemic vasculitis, whereas in patients with rheumatoid arthritis pregnancy can keep the disease in remission for many years. Therefore, conception should be avoided during active disease. Several anti-rheumatic drugs, including cyclophosphamide, may cause infertility or fetal malformations, but there are data supporting the safety of low-dose aspirin, hormones, and cyclophilin A, as well as conventional doses of azathioprine, salazosulfapyridine, and chloroquine hydroxychloroquine in pregnancy. Although the combination of rheumatologic diseases with pregnancy greatly increases the complexity and difficulty of treatment, causing many patients to forego the opportunity to have children. However, detailed evaluation before pregnancy, regular treatment, ensuring conception when the disease is stable, and close monitoring and proper use of medication during pregnancy, perinatal period and postpartum lactation will hopefully make a successful pregnancy and delivery of healthy offspring a reality for patients with rheumatoid immune diseases.