Inflammatory Arthritis and Pregnancy

The decision to have a baby is one of the most important ones a couple will make. For a woman with inflammatory arthritis, the decision might raise some questions: Will the disease or its treatments affect her baby? Will having a baby affect her arthritis? Will arthritis affect her delivery? Will she be able to care for her newborn?

Inflammatory types of arthritis could affect pregnancy from conception to the weeks or months following birth. And pregnancy can make a difference – either good or bad – on a mother’s disease. But predicting the course of pregnancy and how it may affect arthritis symptoms isn’t possible. But the good news is that, armed with knowledge and a strong health care team, most women with inflammatory types of arthritis and related conditions can have healthy pregnancies.

There is a genetic component to many autoimmune diseases, so your child may be somewhat more likely to develop an autoimmune disease, although not necessarily the one that you have.  However, it is really important to remember that many women with autoimmune diseases have healthy babies who don’t develop arthritis or any other type of autoimmune disease.

Here’s what you need to know about pregnancy from the planning stages to delivery and beyond.