How to plan and prepare for a healthy pregnancy.) � �
How will my lupus affect my pregnancy and my baby? " � Having lupus increases your risk of: � �
- Preeclampsia " � Preeclampsia is a serious condition that affects some pregnant women. Women with preeclampsia have high blood pressure and too much protein in their urine. The condition can cause problems with the baby's growth.
- Giving birth to a "premature " � baby (the baby is born before 37 weeks of pregnancy)
- Having a baby that is smaller than normal
- The fetus dying after 10 weeks of pregnancy (a "fetus " � is what a baby is called before it is born)
Having lupus can increase your baby's risk of: � �
- Having a disease called "neonatal lupus " � " � This can sometimes happen when the mother has a certain type of antibodies (proteins in the blood). Not everyone with lupus has these antibodies. Your doctor can test your blood for them. Neonatal lupus can cause the baby to have heart problems.
- Having learning disabilities
You can reduce the risk of problems by seeing your doctors often and letting them know if you think anything is wrong. Your doctors will do tests throughout your pregnancy to check for any problems. � �
How will my medicines affect my pregnancy or my baby? " � Some lupus medicines can hurt an unborn baby. � �
Other medicines are safe to take during pregnancy if needed, but only at certain times or in certain amounts: � �
- NSAIDs " � NSAIDs include medicines such as ibuprofen (sample brand names: Advil � �, Motrin � �), naproxen (sample brand name: Aleve � �), and aspirin. They can safely be used at some times in pregnancy, but not at other times.
- Steroids " � These medicines, such as prednisone, are fairly safe in low doses during pregnancy. (These steroids are not the same steroids that athletes take to build muscle.)
There are other safe medicines available, too. Your doctors can help you decide how best to treat your lupus symptoms without hurting your baby. � �
Talk to your doctors about all the medicines you take and follow their directions carefully. Do not start taking any new medicines, supplements, or herbal drugs without first talking to your doctors. � �
Will pregnancy affect my lupus symptoms? " � It might. Some women with lupus notice that their symptoms get worse during pregnancy. But it is not clear whether pregnancy actually causes symptoms to get worse. If your symptoms are not under control when you get pregnant, they will be more likely to get worse during your pregnancy. � �
Some normal pregnancy symptoms are similar to lupus symptoms. These include: � �
- Feeling tired
- Swelling of the hands, feet, or ankles
- Joint pain
- Trouble breathing
- Numbness or pain in the hands
- Darkening of the skin on the face
Some women with lupus notice that their symptoms get worse after they give birth. This is more likely in women who had symptoms when they got pregnant than in women whose symptoms were under control. � �
Will I be able to breastfeed? " � Yes. Women with lupus can breastfeed. But they have to avoid certain medicines to breastfeed safely. That's because some lupus medicines can get into breast milk and harm a baby. � �
If you want to breastfeed, talk to your doctors. They can tell you which medicines you can take and which ones to avoid. Most of the medicines that aren't safe to take during pregnancy also aren't safe during breastfeeding. If you need these medicines to control your lupus, you might need to stop breastfeeding. � �
All topics are updated as new evidence becomes available and our peer review process is complete. � �
This topic retrieved from UpToDate on: Nov 04, 2014. � �
Topic 16934 Version 2.0 � �
Release: 22.8 - C22.208 � �
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