Lupus erythematosus: How to have a successful pregnancy?

  For patients with SLE, especially lupus nephritis, it has always been the expectation of patients to have a smooth pregnancy and a safe delivery, to be a happy mother and to add points to a happy family, and it is also one of the topics valued by the rheumatology community. It is difficult to elaborate on the details, so here are a few simple words for friends to share, hoping to solve some of the confusion in your mind.  1. Patients with lupus nephritis can conceive normally (which can be interpreted as normal fertility). But the main problem is how to keep the fetus developing and the mother and child safe after pregnancy. Even if the pathological type of kidney puncture is not good (such as type 3, type 4, etc.), after reasonable treatment, pregnancy can still be considered.  2. You must choose the right time to get pregnant (your doctor will help you judge and choose the right time). During pregnancy, nephritis is likely to worsen. The condition is also likely to worsen within six months after giving birth to a child. The fetus of lupus nephritis patients is more prone to miscarriage, premature birth, stillbirth and stunting than ordinary fetus. Therefore, it is very important to choose the right time.  3. When anti-SSA/SSB antibodies are positive, antiphospholipid antibodies are positive, proteinuria is high and blood pressure is high, the pregnancy process especially needs corresponding careful treatment. Its treatment specific program is very different from a usual.  4, pregnant, in no way means that “no drugs can be used”. On the contrary, there is a lot of evidence to show that the rational choice of medication, even certain drugs with instructions that are “prohibited for pregnant women”, can be beneficial to both the mother and the fetus. In addition, it takes a long 10 months to carry a child, and the choice of drugs varies from period to period.  5, the nutrient supplement during pregnancy, and the general population is different, should pay more attention to the use of calcium and vitamin D, more attention to the prevention of anemia.  6.After the birth of a child, it is not true that “if you take medicine, you cannot breastfeed your child”. For those who wish to promote mother-child bonding and breastfeeding, they can use the medication reasonably and breastfeed while taking the medication to maintain a long-lasting cure.  7. The process of pregnancy requires joint efforts and sharing among patients, rheumatologists and obstetricians in order to reach the ideal shore.