Patients with tuberculosis and pregnancy and childbirth

    We recently admitted to our ward two pregnant women with acute hematogenous tuberculosis who were successfully conceived by IVF. One terminated her pregnancy due to spontaneous miscarriage in the fourth month of pregnancy, and one had to terminate her pregnancy because she was in the third trimester. It is generally believed that pregnancy and childbirth do not affect the effectiveness of chemotherapy. However, after a woman’s pregnancy, there are certain changes in metabolism, endocrine function, blood circulation, respiratory function and immunity, which increase the burden on the organism, and pregnancy in TB patients is a special problem. According to the statistics: the rate of postpartum deterioration of severe TB is 52%. Pregnancy has both advantages and disadvantages for tuberculosis. After pregnancy, as the months increase, the uterus gradually increases, and the huge uterus compresses the lungs, which can compress the lung lesions and play the role of artificial pneumoperitoneum. Early pregnancy has varying degrees of gestational reaction, which reduces nutritional intake and thus weakens the resistance of the pregnant woman. Late pregnancy is prone to gestosis, emergence, etc., which can also worsen the condition. After delivery, the body’s resistance is significantly weakened and the rate of TB deterioration is high. There are also many patients who have not been reviewed during pregnancy and have interrupted anti-tuberculosis medication on their own, resulting in the deterioration of the lesions after delivery or the occurrence of hematogenous tuberculosis and tuberculous meningitis after delivery. Therefore, patients with tuberculosis are not suitable for childbirth until they are cured. After anti-tuberculosis treatment, if there are no tuberculosis bacilli in the sputum, the cavity is closed, most of the lesions are absorbed, there are no symptoms of tuberculosis poisoning, and the disease does not change after six months to a year of observation after the course of treatment, pregnancy is allowed with the consent of the doctor